10:30 PM ET, May 3, 2014
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
Associated Press
Clippers Outlast Warriors
They had just persevered through seven exhausting playoff games amid enormous distractions leading to their owner's lifetime banishment from the NBA.
A franchise that once redefined losing was a winner despite it all -- and there's no telling how much farther these new Clippers can go.
More From Game 7
After
being the calming voice and face of a franchise in turmoil for the past
week, Doc Rivers could finally let his emotions spill over, Arash
Markazi writes. Story
Doc
Rivers pumped his fist. And yelled. Even those who'd known him the
longest said they'd never seen him react that way, J.A. Adande writes. Daily Dime
Golden State made it a series with some small ball guerrilla warfare,
but ultimately, they were too thin, too little, to emerge victorious,
Ethan Sherwood Strauss writes.
Story
• Roster Reload: Golden State
• Rapid Reaction
"I'm just happy we pulled it out,'' Paul said. "It's going to sound crazy, but it was all about tonight. Everything else was in the past. We didn't dwell on all that stuff, and not to diminish how serious everything has been in the past week or so. It was all about basketball tonight.''
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points for the third-seeded Clippers, who earned the franchise's third playoff series win in 38 years with the highest degree of off-court difficulty imaginable.
Less than a week after dumping their team warmup jerseys at center court in a pregame gesture of defiance against Donald Sterling, the Clippers earned a cathartic win and a second-round date with the Oklahoma City Thunder, starting Monday night.
"I just thought with all this stuff, this team just needed this win,'' Rivers said. "This was a hard week. It feels like two months. I just needed to be able to smile and laugh and cheer, and be proud of something. And I was very proud of my players.''
Sterling was banned for life from the NBA on Tuesday after a recording of racist comments by the 80-year-old billionaire was made public. The Clippers endured sleepless nights, constant public scrutiny and a failed attempt to close out the series in Game 6 before they finally hung on to beat Golden State.
Sterling's long-estranged wife, Rochelle, cheered and clapped from the back of the lower bowl of Staples Center, where most of the advertising signage was illuminated again after the advertiser walkout sparked by Sterling's comments.
"It's been a crazy ride for us,'' said DeAndre Jordan, who had 15 points and 18 rebounds. "I commend our guys for sticking with it. It's been a roller coaster, but we came out and had a job to do, and we did it.''
Stephen Curry had 33 points and nine assists, but Golden State blew a lead with 2:10 left in Game 7. Draymond Green scored 24 points for the Warriors, who lost their first Game 7 since 1977 and failed to advance in consecutive postseasons for the first time since that same year.
"We fought so hard this whole series, this whole season,'' Curry said. "It stings. It's disappointing for sure.''
What A Contest
The Clippers fared much better on contested jump shots in the second half than they did in the first half against the Warriors.
Clippers Contested Jump Shots, Game 7
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
|---|---|---|
| Pts | 9 | 25* |
| FG | 3-16 | 10-22 |
| FG pct | 19% | 46% |
| * Redick: 10 pts in second half --ESPN Stats & Information |
||
After Griffin put the Clippers ahead for good by muscling home a layup, Jordan blocked Curry's layup attempt to set up a fast break leading to J.J. Redick's lob to Griffin for a thunderous slam. Jordan added a dunk on an offensive rebound, and Griffin spun in the air and threw home a layup while getting fouled with 56 seconds left.
Jordan threw down another alley-oop from Griffin with 22 seconds left, but Green hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 120-118. But Redick, Paul and Darren Collison hit two free throws apiece in the final 12 seconds to ice it.
Redick scored 20 points for the Clippers, and Jordan put in a stellar low-post performance for the two-time Pacific Division champions.
Klay Thompson managed just 15 points for the Warriors, failing to make a shot in the fourth quarter. Curry had just three field goals in the second half.
"I thought it was a hard-fought series that everyone in the organization should be proud of,'' Jackson said. "We all went through it. The statements that were made were made to all of us. ... We did a good job handling what could go down as the toughest moment in league history, as far as what we had to go through.''
The game could have been the last for Golden State coach Mark Jackson, who might be on shaky ground with Warriors ownership despite presiding over the long-struggling franchise's best two-year stretch in two decades. Curry said it would be ``a shock'' if Jackson wasn't the Warriors' coach next year.
"I don't get caught up in it,'' Jackson said. "I'm totally confident, and I have total faith that I'm going to be fine.''
Game notes
The Warriors haven't won a Game 7 on the road since the Philadelphia Warriors beat the St. Louis Bombers in the 1948 BAA semifinals. ... Jordan set a franchise record for rebounds in a single playoff series, surpassing Bob McAdoo's 94 rebounds for the Buffalo Braves in 1975. Jordan had already set the club record for blocked shots in a series. ... Warriors big man Jermaine O'Neal played only three minutes after a collision with Los Angeles' Glen Davis in Game 6 left him with a bone bruise on his right kneecap.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
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