NBA Playoffs 2012: Los Angeles Clippers Pull Off A Comeback For The Ages

Memphis led 95-71 with just 9 minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the game. They would end up scoring just 3 points in the final 8 minutes of action, allowing the Clippers to make their epic last stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIjoUTDDnIY

This just goes to show that the game isn’t over….until its actually over.

MEMPHIS BLOWS IT

There is no better way to describe the performance of the Memphis Grizzlies near the end of this game.

They blew it. Plain and simple. The win was basically wrapped up by the end of the third quarter with that 21 point lead. Fans were leaving the building, exiting bars and turning off their television sets. I certainly was.

The problem with what the Grizzlies did is they played the final quarter as a basketball team who didn’t want to lose the game rather than playing with the aggressive attitude that got them that huge lead in the first place. Trying to milk the shot clock and settle for jump shots was a bad strategic move on their part. When you have your opponent down and out on the ground, under no circumstances should you take your leg off their head and give them another chance at life (metaphorically speaking of course).

Everything had fallen into place perfectly for Memphis. The team shot an uncharacteristic 11 for 16 from long-range after ranking just 25th in the league during the regular season. They started off the game hitting 5 of their first 6 shots and jumping out to a 15-6 lead. Memphis was 17-1 when leading after the first quarter and 16-1 when leading after halftime. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Then everything just fell apart. The team got lazy, mailed it in and wound up losing the all important momentum building opening playoff game.

What started out being a walk in the park for the Grizzlies ended up being a postseason loss that could emotionally strain this franchise for quite some time.

CREDIT TO THE CLIPPERS

Never give up…..never surrender! 

All of the credit in the world has to be given to this Clippers team for not throwing in the towel at the end of the game when all seemed lost.

When no one in their right mind could fathom Los Angeles making a comeback, let alone winning the game, the players and coaches had every confidence in themselves that this game could be salvaged.

While Chris Paul (14 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists) and Blake Griffin (17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) are the MVP’s of this franchise, the MVP’s of this game were role players Nick Young and Reggie Evans.

Young was the key spark plug off the bench for the Clippers on this night. He led the team in scoring with 19 points and 3 key makes from long-range near the end of the game.

Evans was an absolute force down low playing solid defense on Randolph and Gasol down the stretch and grabbing 13 rebounds in the process. This comeback victory doesn’t happen without the collective effort of these 2 individuals.

The Clippers are going to need these guys to continue at this pace for the rest of this series in order for Los Angeles to advance to the second round. It appears that starting small forward Caron Butler (12 points, 2 rebounds) will miss the duration of the postseason after breaking his left hand. L.A didn’t need Butler to complete the comeback and win the ball game, but winning the series without his services will be quite the tall task.

I’m still very much in shock that the Clippers won this game. It’s not over until the fat lady sings I suppose.

I can now appreciate why Derrick Rose remained on the court near the end of the Bulls/Sixers game 2 days ago. You just never know anymore.

QUOTES OF THE GAME

‘We just got careless. We just lost a little bit of our discipline from a defensive perspective. But offensively, we just started walking it up and trying to throw it into the post instead of running it in. We ran earlier. We attacked. We were in transition earlier. We just stopped doing that and got conservative and it cost us.” – Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins (yahoo)

”I don’t think I’ve been part of a game like that ever. It was unbelievable.” – Clippers forward Blake Griffin (yahoo)

TWEET OF THE GAME

FINAL THOUGHTS

– I don’t understand why Rudy Gay ran down the shot clock as much as he did during the final 10 seconds. Why not attempt an early shot and then foul if you miss? You would send the Clippers to the free-throw line and you still would get one more crack at either tying or winning the game. It baffles me. Don’t be a hero. Be smart and make better basketball decisions.

– Moment of the game? Watching Zach Randolph do some push ups after being knocked to the ground by Blake Griffin was pretty humorous. Witnessing a man who missed a majority of the year due to injury fall to the ground like that must have taken the wind out of the collective sails of Grizzlies fans around the arena.

NEXT GAME

Game 2 – Wed. May 2, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30 p.m., TNT (Clippers lead series 1-0)

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports