Clippers extend season with another escape
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And so another typical Clippers postseason rolls on.
When you think they’ll win, they lose. And when you think they’re lost, well ...
In the dying days of a core group whose six-year run together is ending, the Clippers showed up here Friday night and sprinted away with the one thing nobody thought they had left. One last breath. Charged with staving off playoff elimination in arguably the NBA’s loudest home arena and without one of their best players, the Clippers escaped Vivint Smart Home Arena with the unlikeliest of life.
They defeated the Utah Jazz, 98-93, to knot the series at three games apiece and set up Game 7 on Sunday at Staples Center. But barely, barely, barely. With 1:29 left, the Clippers led by 10 points and it was all but over, but then the Clipper Curse momentarily stuck its head in the building before being shooed away.
Chris Paul lost the ball twice, the Jazz scored seven straight points, and only when an off-balance, potential game-tying three-point attempt by Joe Johnson clanked off the rim were the Clippers saved.
Doc Rivers screamed. Paul barked and eventually tore off his shirt. A ball was thrown to the rafters and eventually the black shirts bounced off the court in giddy laughter, leaving thousands of white shirts staring in stunned silence.
In a matter of hours, the Clippers have gone from extinction to the excitement of a deciding game that, two days ago, was considered so unlikely fans were being emailed advertisements for discounted Game 7 tickets.
As quick as one of the Paul drives that again dominated the night – he scored 29 points – they have gone from forgotten to favorites to play in the second round against the Golden State Warriors.
Forget, for a second, that the Warriors appear unbeatable. Forget that the Clippers must forge forward without BOSTON CELTICS forward Gerald Green (30) dunks the ball as Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) looks on during the Celtics 105-83 Game 6 triumph in Chicago on Friday night. The Celtics advance to face the Washington Wizards, who eliminated the Atlanta Hawks. Blake Griffin, who is lost for the postseason with a toe injury.
When faced with the likelihood of quitting, the Clippers didn’t quit, and their legacy just gets nuttier. Remember in 2015 when they won an elimination Game 6 in San Antonio before returning to win the first-round series in a memorable Game 7 at Staples Center? They are now on the verge of doing it again, and who would have thought?
Nobody except the Clippers, it seemed, believed they could win Friday’s game in this environment. It was so loud, with so much shaking and clapping, the risers that held the visiting media constantly rattled and swayed. The Jazz were so confident that during one timeout, the video board displayed two fans holding up posters reading, “Warriors Take Note. We’re Coming.”
That timeout was in the game’s first three minutes.
But it was the Jazz who played tight. It was they who acted like their season was on the line, and maybe it was.
“Yeah, it’s a must-win for us, we know that,” Rivers, the Clippers’ coach said, before the game. “[But] it’s a must-win for them too. They don’t want to have to go back to a Game 7 on the road.”
(Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Celtics 105, Bulls 83
Avery Bradley scored 23 points and all five Boston starters reached double figures as the Celtics blew out the Chicago Bulls in Game 6 to close out their Eastern Conference playoff series Friday night.
Gerald Green scored 16 points for the Celtics, who also got 12 points from Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford.
Jimmy Butler, hobbled by knee soreness, led Chicago with 23 points. Robin Lopez also scored 10 points for the Bulls, which dropped the final four games of the best-of-seven series after grabbing a 2-0 lead with a pair of lopsided victories in Boston.
Wizards 115, Hawks 99
John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 73 points and Washington defeated Atlanta to win its first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Washington took the series four games to two and advances to the second round to meet Boston, which eliminated Chicago in six games.
Wall scored 20 points in the first half and finished with 42 points on 16-of-25 shooting from the field. Beal had 17 in the first half and finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Wall also had eight assists.
Atlanta was led by Paul Millsap, who totaled 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Dennis Schroder had 26 points and 10 assists, his second straight double-double. (Reuters)