The first two 3-pointers in Cleveland’s record-setting first quarter, during which they drained 11 of 13 from beyond the arc, come in identical fashion:
Shaquille O’Neal has DeAndre Jordan posted up on the left block. The Clippers send help in the form of one of their guards — Eric Gordon on the first (1st, 8:05), Baron Davis on the second (1st, 7:36). Once the double-team arrives, O’Neal kicks the ball out — to Anthony Parker on the first, then to Boobie Gibson on the second. These shooters have found some open space along the arc behind the stretched Clippers’ defense. In both instances, better communication between Gordon and Davis might have given the Clippers a chance to close out more aggressively.
