The odds were stacked against the Los Angeles Clippers against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. Coming in, San Antonio was 14-4 in potential closeout games at home under coach Gregg Popovich - and Pop was 12-1 all-time in the playoffs with a 3-2 series lead.
Still, when it was all said and done, they escaped with a 102-96 win to force a Game 7 on Saturday back in L.A.
The Clippers promptly went out and crippled themselves early. They missed their first eight three-point field goals, ending a streak at 20 straight misses from deep going back to Game 5.
Point guard Chris Paul also started the game 0-for-8. The Clippers managed to stay close thanks to subpar offensive outings from the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard (3-of-15, 12 points) and Tony Parker (4-of-12, eight points).
Clippers starters: Outscored Spurs starters 87-48
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 1, 2015
Turning point
Paul didn't hit a field goal until there was 4:43 left in the third quarter, but after that there was no stopping the Point God. He scored eight straight points and finished with 19 points and 15 assists, including this dime to Glen Davis:
Star performer(s)
Paul and Blake Griffin played 44 and 41 minutes respectively. Griffin finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Doc Rivers was forced to keep his woefully thin bench's floor time to a minimum, but Davis went down with a left ankle sprain at the end of his 10-minute stretch. He did not return.
Highlight reel
The Spurs' ball movement is always something to behold. While you don't see it, I promise you Danny Green ends this with a three. Note the confusion of the Clippers' Austin Rivers, who finished minus-12 in 11 minutes.
Marco Belinelli and Boris Diaw were the lone hot hands for the Spurs. Belinelli hit a postseason career-high seven treys, leading San Antonio with 23 points. This late one cut the Clippers' lead to two with 14 seconds left. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was outside of his body.
Now it's on to Game 7. The Spurs have won one of those on the road before.
The only time the Spurs won a Game 7 on the road, it was against Chris Paul (2008 conf. semis).
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) May 1, 2015
Series at a glance
Game 1: Clippers 107, Spurs 102 (Clippers lead 1-0)
Game 2: Spurs 111, Clippers 107 OT (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Spurs 100, Clippers 73 (Spurs lead 2-1)
Game 4: Clippers 114, Spurs 105 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: Spurs 111, Clippers 107 (Spurs lead 3-2)
Game 6: Clippers 102, Spurs 96 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 7: Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m. ET
