RECAP: Fool Me Once, No Shame on the Clippers; Defeat Indiana, 114-113
In the words of Lue post-game, “Kawhi is just a special player… he willed us to this win.”
One of the things I love about the game of basketball is that no matter who is playing, who is out, what teams are facing one another, you never really know what kind of game you’re going to get. I was hoping to tune in for a blowout for the Clippers/Pacers matchup, but I should have known better.
First off, if you know anything about last year’s Pacers, who are almost the same team minus some major players, they are far more talented than their record. But nothing could have prepared me for the end of this game.
In the first quarter, the Clippers had a brief lead and didn’t lead again until the last minute of this game. They seemed out of sync, and the Pacers were shooting well over 50 percent. At the end of the 2nd, we started to crawl back into the game, but even into the third, every time we got close, the Pacers managed to crush the momentum. The Clippers had no quit in them, though, and kept working their way back into it.
Finally, in the 4th quarter, with about 40 seconds left in the game and down by over 24 points, the Clippers cut it to 113-109.
But at the end of the day, I’m a Clipper fan.
Something in me knew better.
Despite the comeback, however, it looked bleak. Remote in hand, I yawned and was ready to shut off the loss. But at the end of the day, I’m a Clipper fan. Something in me knew better. After hitting 6 threes on the night, DG drew a foul and coolly hit both free throws, making the score, and went on to finish with 30. Then, Derek Jones Jr. came up with a huge stop on Pascal Siakam, allowing Kawhi Leonard to pull down the rebound off a miss and score to bring it to 113-111.
Ok. I’m sitting down again. Ty Lue, one of the masters of the after-time-out play, drew one up.
Kawhi got the ball and somehow bullied his way to his left, and despite the entire defense knowing exactly what was coming, rose up over two defenders and drained the mid-range game-winner. Now, there are .4 seconds on the clock. The Pacers tried to execute an alley-oop but instead created a turnover. Finally, in a very confusing sequence and amid some debate about the time remaining on the clock, the refs called a foul on Brook Lopez after a phenomenal flop by Jay Huff that got him to the line. Fortunately, we all channeled our inner “Wall” in Indiana because Huff blew both free throws, giving the Clippers the win, and Ty Lue is 400th career victory.
In the words of Lue post-game:
“Kawhi is just a special player… he willed us to this win.”
Benedict Matherin had a fantastic game against his former team after getting visibly choked up watching his tribute video. Mathurin drew 8 fouls and was 12 of 15 from the line. Brook Lopez ended his night with a healthy 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Clippers may have gotten off to a wonky start in this one, and the Pacers were white hot from 3, but at the end of the day, the grit and grind Clippers walked away with the W, and that’s all that matters in the end.
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