Apr 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) goes up for a dunk against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter in game five of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
It’s the biggest game of the NBA season, and you know why. For those reasons, I will be keeping a running diary my thoughts and reactions during the game. Let’s get down to business!
PREGAME
What a really, really, really great environment for the game. The standing O for the Clippers entrance and for Doc Rivers was an all-timer in sports moments. The energy is electric in Staples Center tonight, just like everyone thought it would be. Everyone’s got to feel like this is going to be a blowout win for the Clippers tonight. It’s finally about basketball again!
FIRST QUARTER
10:35: DEANDRE JORDAN THROWS DRAYMOND GREEN TO THE GROUND and then gets fouled by David Lee. Jordan makes both free throws. Looks like DeAndre came to play folks! 4-2 Clippers.
10:15: Draymond Green picks up his second foul. Seriously, Dray, I thought you guys decided you wanted to play today?
9:55: Curry strips Blake, leading to a 4-on-1, and David Lee finishes an absolutely disgusting one-handed pass from IGGY! 4-4.
9:41: Jordan throws it down! He really came to play today! 6-4.
9:20: Griffin is really struggling down low with Speights guarding him. (No one has ever written that sentence before, by the way.)
8:25: Curry drains his first shot. It’s a three. Bad sign for the Clippers. 9-6 Warriors.
8:04: Jordan blocks Iggy’s dunk attempt, leading to a Chris Paul run-out and Redick finishes with a floater in the lane. 9-8 Warriors.
7:10: Literally seconds after Reggie Miller points out Chris Paul seems bothered by his hamstring, Paul strips Thompson and takes it coast-to-coast for a lay-in… all on one leg… just kidding. Paul looks fine. Clippers take the lead 10-9.
6:31: First TV Timeout: Crowd has yet to make an impact on the game…
P.S. Pharrell’s “Come Get It Bae” commercial leading into Adam Silver’s press conference apologizing to everyone, particularly the players and former players, was a very interesting tandem, TNT.
6:25: Clippers get a fast break, and Speights gives Griffin a mid-air bear hug. Flagrant 1 foul called and upheld after review. The crowd seems a little ticked at that play. Still waiting for the explosion. Blake makes both free throws. 12-9 Clippers.
6:11: Great ball movement opens up a corner trey for Barnes and he drains it! Crowd barely cheers… What’s going on? 15-9 Clippers.
4:47: Griffin to Jordan Alley-Oooooooooppppp. 19-13 Clippers. That’s a little more like it, fans!
4:09: Another Curry turnover leads to a high-flying Griffin SLAM! THE CROWD HAS COME ALIVE! That’s 10 fast-break points for the Clippers. 21-14 Clippers.
3:46: Jermaine O’Neal misses two free throws… Not bad though for such an old man.
3:30: Jamal Crawford misses a WIDE-OPEN 3. The Crowd was about to lose their minds if that went shot down.
2:03: Thompson posts up Paul and makes a fadeaway with the double coming. That’s a big mismatch for the Warriors. Let’s see how many more time they go to Thompson when Paul’s guarding him. 21-18 Clippers.
0:51: More great Clipper ball movement leads to a Jordan slam. That’s 10 points for Jordan in the first quarter and 10 more points than he scored all of Game 4… I’d say it’s going well for him. 28-20 Clippers lead.
0:25: JAMAL CRAWFORD TRANSITION 3 gives Clippers 31-20 lead.
0:05: Speights goes one-on-one with Big Baby Davis. On a team with so many offensive weapons, I don’t know how Speights got the ball. Obviously, Davis bailed him out with a foul, though.
SECOND QUARTER
11:31: Big Baby flops guarding O’Neal and gives him an easy lay-up. Fans everywhere wonder how Big Baby Davis is playing for the Clippers and why he’s so fat now. It used to be kind of funny that he was fat when he was a pretty decent bench player for the Celtics and Magic. Now that he’s turrrible, it’s both hilarious and sad at the same time.
11:31: Jamal Crawford does what Jamal Crawford does, making a ludicrous runner with the And-1. 34-23 Clippers.
10:11: Harrison Barnes makes a three and lets everyone know he’s on the court. He’s been virtually invisible until that shot. 36-26 Clippers.
9:16: Draymond Green posts Griffin and finishes with a left-handed hook. Warriors on a 7-0 run. 36-30 Clippers.
8:46: Barnes almost breaks the backboard with an elbow jumper. Dear god. But, the rebound comes off so hard, Griffin and Green get tangled up going for the loose ball. Blake’s called for the foul. That’s two on Griffin, and the crowd does not like it.
7:50: Collison hits a jumper. He’s got a quiet 11 already… Clippers up 40-32.
7:32: Curry with the 4-POINT PLAY! He’s about to go cray. You can just tell… Clippers 40-36.
6:42: Right back atcha Steph! Jordan with the basket and the foul! He’s 5-for-5 on the night. That’s also the third foul on Green, and he’ll have to sit. Jordan misses the free throw, but Griffin snags the rebound and kicks out for a long Redick jumper. 4-Point possessions all around. Clippers 44-36.
5:06: Thompson gets free and drills a corner three. It seems like he’s feeling it tonight. 44-41 Clippers.
4:44: Matt Barnes drills another three. He’s hit two tonight. 47-41 Clippers.
3:37: Chris Paul grabs at David Lee’s ankles while Lee misses a lay-in. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT, LEE! He makes one of two free throws. 47-42 Clippers.
3:15: Griffin finally gets the foul call he’s been begging for all night. He’s having an awful shooting night, only 1-of-8 from the field. But, he’s making his free throws though. 49-42 Clippers.
TIMEOUT
Where is Steph Curry tonight?
Also, I just saw the end of the fourth quarter in the Grizzlies-Thunder game. Two questions: What are the Thunder doing not fouling? And, how does Mike Conley give that away? That series, man.
Back to the Clippers-Warriors!
1:54: Warriors doubling and defending Griffin tough tonight. He gets a lucky bailout by the ref there, but he misses both throws. Ball don’t lie?
1:40: Thompson takes advantage of Paul again for an easy lay-in, and it’s only a two-point game. It must be really disappointing for the Clippers to only be up two. It feels like they’ve dominated this half, but Golden State won’t go away. 49-47 Clippers.
1:27: Thompson goes under the on-ball screen. Why would you do that, Klay? Paul burns him with a three. Clippers up 52-47.
1:14: Lee gets free for a slam. Bad defense. 52-49 Clippers.
0:00: Paul misses a contested lay-in, but Jordan is there to put in the follow at the buzzer. Clippers go into the half leading 55-50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpjKpzNi6l8
HALFTIME THOUGHTS
1) As it turns out, I’m the only one not watching OKC-Memphis live. Probably a big mistake.
2) Both teams brought it tonight. I knew the Clippers would bring it, but the Warriors have answered with some energy and enthusiasm of their own.
3) DeAndre Jordan is locked in! He’s got 15 points and 11 rebounds. It also shows how much he, in particular, was affected by this whole Sterling situation. Remember, he didn’t score in Game 4.
4) I just saw the end of the Memphis-OKC game… Joey Crawford did everything possible to stop Durant from making that free throw. Why didn’t I watch that game live?
“Who draws up a half-court jumper for the win?” SCOTTY BROOKS does!
5) Thunder G.M. Sam Presti is already on the phone with Kevin Ollie offering him the head coaching position for the Thunder next season. And… (wait five seconds) now it’s a done deal. Welcome back to OKC, Kevin Ollie.
6) Steph needs to shoot more! Only 7 points in the first half?! #puke
THIRD QUARTER
11:26: Griffin scores. Good sign for the Clippers. They need to get Blake going. 57-51.
11:15: Steph turns it over again! Six turnovers and 7 points for Curry, and the Warriors are somehow still in the game.
11:00: Jordan puts down an offensive rebound. The Warriors can’t stop him on the glass without Bogut. Jordan has been and will continue to be the difference in this series. 59-51.
10:22: Green draws an offensive foul on Griffin. He’s got three fouls now. Yikes.
9:26: Redick almost breaks the backboard on that three.
9:10: Thompson hits a jumper, and cuts the lead to six. 61-55 Clippers.
8:33: Blake picks up ANOTHER foul… He’s got four fouls with more than 20 minutes of game time left. BRING ON BIG BABY! (Doc puts in Hedo Turkoglu instead).
7:47: David Lee steamrolls Turkoglu and sends him crashing to the ground. Lee picks up HIS fourth foul. Hedo can’t get up. That didn’t look good. BRING ON BIG BABY.
7:31: ON CUE! BIG BABY DRAINS AN 18-FOOTER. It’s over for Golden State if that shot is falling. 63-55 Clippers.
6:30: Curry gets caught in the corner and makes a circus pass to Lee who passes to O’Neal for the dunk. Warriors are grasping for offense right now. There’s no offense flow. They’ve got to get Curry going. 63-57 Clippers.
5:17: Lee finishes an offensive rebound. Golden State won’t go away. 65-61 Clippers.
4:53: Clippers answer with a Redick jumper off a Jordan offensive rebound. Clippers lead 67-61.
3:55: David Lee picks up his FIFTH foul. Have to wonder why Mark Jackson had him on the court? It’s not like this game was getting out of reach. Now he’ll sit… Forever, basically.
3:30: BIG BABY with the BIG TURNOVER. Iggy slams it home, and it’s 67-65.
3:05: Paul answers with a jumper. The lead is back to four. The crowd is coming alive!
TIMEOUT!
By the way, where is Steph Curry?
2:12: THERE HE IS! Steph drains a long two. He’s got nine points now. Clippers lead 69-67.
1:50: WHO WANTS SOME TIKA MASALA?! CURRY HITS AGAIN! Warriors take the lead 70-69. He’s heating up…
1:33: Paul fires up a three and BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE! Clippers regain the lead 72-70.
1:15: Curry’s eighth turnover leads to a Jamal Crawford jam. 74-70 Clippers.
0:01: Paul buries a three right in Curry’s grill. And Skip Bayless said he wasn’t a superstar… 77-72 Clippers.
FOURTH QUARTER
11:23: Curry gets trapped again. Somehow Harrison Barnes breaks free, Curry finds him and Barnes slams it home. That’s twice in the second half Curry has been left for dead and found teammates for dunks. Clippers lead 77-74.
10:46: Jamal Crawford with the swoop-scoop over Igoudala. That was awesome. 79-74 Clippers.
10:03: Griffin powers through Green for the basket. Both trying to avoid fouling. 81-76 Clippers.
9:35: Thompson beats the shot clock with a reverse lay-in. 81-78 Clippers.
9:08: Griffin scores again! 83-78 Clippers. Someone play some defense!
8:29: Green fouls Jamal Crawford shooting a 19-footer. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad foul. That’s FIVE on Dray. Crawford makes both. 85-78 Clips.
8:04: The Clippers double Barnes for some reason, and after the scramble, it leads to a wide-open Curry three… Why, Clippers, just why? 85-81.
7:49: RIGHT BACK ATCHA STEPH! Crawford drills a three. 88-81 now.
7:02: Griffin hits a Dirk-a-licious fadeaway over Green. Griffin should have to pay Dirk residuals every time he uses that move. Clippers starting to pull away now 90-81.
6:24: GRIFFIN IS ON FIRE! 92-83 Clips!
6:05: Iggy bricks a three and throws down a monster jam off his own miss! You can watch every basketball game for the next ten years and possibly never see that again. 92-85.
5:46: Thompson fouls Paul shooting a three… Ruh-roh, Raggy, time is running out for the Warriors. Paul makes all three and he’s got 13 in the second half. 95-85 Clippers.
5:10: Iggy hits a huge three! 95-88 Clippers.
5:08: And now its fouling time. The Warriors intentionally send Jordan to the line. He makes one of two. 96-88 Clippers.
4:51: Jordan goes to the line again. He makes both this time. 98-90 Clippers.
4:35: Thompson hits a jumper over Paul again. The Warriors have really gone at Paul today with Thompson. It’s 98-92 now.
4:07: Jordan is fouled again… except not intentionally this time. He makes one of two again. 99-92 Clippers.
3:47: Another Curry turnover leads to a Jamal Crawford lay-up. Clippers up 101-92.
2:40: Thompson hits a three. It’s not over yet! Clippers lead 103-95.
1:55: The crowd is on their feet. They can feel how close this victory is. One more basket should seal it.
1:39: Jordan is fouled again and goes to the line. He BANKS in the first free throw and swishes the second. GAME! 105-95 Clips.
END OF GAME
CLIPPERS 113 WARRIORS 103