Clippers’ defiant Paul, Blake tell Spurs not so fast
THE SPORTS XCHANGE
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SAN ANTONIO — As it turns out, that pounding San Antonio administered to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night was no sign that the Spurs were in control of their NBA playoff series.
Guard Chris Paul scored 34 points, forward Blake Griffin added 20 along with 19 rebounds, and the Clippers defeated the Spurs 114-105 Sunday to even their best-of-7 Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.
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That represented quite a turnaround from Friday night, when Griffin and Paul combined for only 21 points in a 100-73 defeat.
“There is no momentum in this series,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Just two very good teams, two evenly matched teams.”
Griffin and Paul each handed out seven assists Sunday. Guard J.J. Redick supplemented the two Clip- pers stars with 17 points.
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard and guard Danny Green did substandard work trying to contain Redick, coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Clippers received scoring help from a pair of reserve guards. Austin Rivers, Doc’s son, scored 16 — converting 7 of 8 shots from the field — and Jamal Crawford had 15. Rivers and Crawford scored five apiece ear-
Selfless Paul gets more looks in flow of game
ly in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers forged ahead by 13 points. Rivers also played some stout defense.
Leonard led San Antonio with 26 points. Forward Tim Duncan totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds, and guard Tony Parker scored 18.
The Clippers trailed by one point late in the third quarter. Paul then made six consecutive free throws and a jump shot during the final 2:14, staking the Clippers to an 81-76 at the end of the quarter.
The Clippers’ surge came after Doc Rivers removed center DeAndre Jordan (14 rebounds, four blocks, six points), a poor free-throw shooter, from the game. Jordan had just missed four straight, the second two after the Spurs fouled him intentionally.
Removing Jordan was not an easy decision for Rivers. Jordan is one of the worst free-throw shooters in the league but the leading rebounding and a top- notch defender.
“Nine times out of 10 times, I’m guessing,” Rivers said. “I go by gut.”
Before the game, Rivers suggested that Paul was too selfless, sometimes opting to pass when maybe he should shoot. Afterward, Paul said he wasn’t looking to shoot more but received opportunities in the flow of the game.
“I just try to play the right way,” said Paul, who made 11 of 19 field-goal attempts. “When the shot’s there, I try to take it. I try not to force things, try to make the right pass. Tonight, it was just the ball movement. We played at the right tempo. We set screens. Our defense was better.”
That defense limited the Spurs to six 3-point baskets in 25 attempts. Green, a 47 percent 3-point shooter at home during the regular season, missed with all six of his attempts Sunday. San Antonio also missed 10 of 35 free throws, including four misses apiece by Duncan and Parker.
“Those are points we need, points we have to have,” Duncan said. “They defended the 3-point line very well. But stuff like at the free-throw line, executing plays ...”
Popovich said the Spurs made too many mistakes in a lot of areas.
“We lacked a lot of discipline,” Popovich said. “I thought we were just not very wise in a lot of situations.”
Game 5 is Tuesday in Los Angeles.