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Last Call: Los Angeles Clippers 111, Golden State Warriors 98

Mar 13, 2014
by Jovan Buha



(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Buzzer Reaction


Los Angeles Clippers
 111
Final
Recap | Box score
 98

Golden State Warriors

MVP: Blake Griffin. The Clippers forward didn’t shoot particularly well (13-for-28) from the field, but salvaged broken plays at key moments. Griffin was all the more crucial given Chris Paul’s lackluster production against the Warriors.

That was… exhilarating: Danny Granger had an excellent 7-for-11 shooting night. But one of his few misses provided Blake Griffin the opportunity for a breathtaking, earth-shaking putback dunk.

Defining moment: Over an 11-minute stretch in the third and fourth quarters, the Golden State Warriors scored only 10 points while the Clippers posted 22. The prolonged run by L.A. cemented Golden State’s demise and the Clippers’ victory.

– Curtis Harris

The Dunk Of The Year

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Tweet(s) Of The Game

The Depth Charge

BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Ryan Hollins, C DNP COACH’S DECISION
Hedo Turkoglu, PF 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 +3 0
Big Baby, PF 14 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 +11 2
Total 21 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 1 0 0 1 2 +14 2
(Photo via NBA.com/Stats)

(Photo via NBA.com/Stats)

ClipperBlog Live’s Best Moment

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How long can the Clippers’ win streak last? Fred, Seerat and Andrew discuss that, and the hallway altercation between Blake Griffin and Jermaine O’Neal.

Check Your Messages

The Invisible Highlight
Blake Griffin’s ridiculous put-back dunk off of Danny Granger’s miss was the clincher for Los Angeles. It was on YouTube three minutes after Staples Center exploded at the sight of Griffin soaring through the air. It will be on Sportscenter and NBA.com highlight reels for a quite a bit.

You know what won’t be? The defensive possession beforehand.

Blake Griffin hedged hard on a Stephen Curry pick-and-roll to prevent Curry from having space to shoot, quickly recovered over to his man with both hands raised to block off a passing lane, which tipped away the pass headed in that direction. Glen Davis came up with the loose ball and the rest, as you know, is history.

Although it’s been said a million times before on a million different sites in a million different ways, that’s the evolution of Blake Griffin. So while Griffin’s high-flying art show dominates the highlights, his improvement everywhere else will continue helping himself and his team dominate the league. Nine in a row for the Clippers.
- David Vertsberger

#Threequartersquad
The Warriors coined the #FullSquad excuse as a way to explain their struggles and schematic changes during the season. As games ebbed and flowed, the less Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry played, the more the Warriors struggled. The Clippers have lost Chris Paul for an extended period of time, J.J. Redick for possibly the rest of the season and dealt with lingering problems to Jamal Crawford and Jared Dudley. In stepped Danny Granger.

Without Redick and Crawford against the healthy Warriors, they clamped down late second half and a putback Blake Griffin slam essentially ended the game. The Clippers trimmed their rotations down and got 7-of-11 shooting and 18 huge points from Granger. He came out of the halftime with bags taped to his knees, but still tossing up jump shots. In one memorable moment, he blew by athletic swingman Harrison Barnes for a layup in the third quarter.

When Paul went down, Griffin stepped up in an MVP way. Now with ancillary members of the rotation down, there’s no excuse coming from the reigning Pacific Division champions and the Clippers keep chugging along; winners of nine straight and just three games behind the first-place Spurs.
- Andy Liu

Breakdown Of A Breakdown
Willie Green came into the game versus the Warriors shooting only 33 percent from three, a five-year low. Green was on his game tonight, scoring a game-high 13 points in another Clippers win. And if there’s one spot Green feels great about, it’s the right corner, where he has made 13-of-27 threes (48 percent).

One of those threes came off a broken play in the third quarter that required an unlikely playmaker in Matt Barnes. A Chris Paul-Blake Griffin pick and roll didn’t work, resulting in Barnes receiving a pass above the left break. Instead of forcing the ball to Griffin at the top of the key, Barnes drove. He had no shot, but with his left hand, he found Green in his spot in the right corner for a three with the clock running down.

If the Clippers can recognize Green’s sweet spot, he’ll give the offense even more options. And after another heavy scoring night against a top defense, it’s getting harder to fathom how many more options there are.
- Lawrence Murray

Will The Wins Ever Stop?
The Clippers have won nine games in a row, and it doesn’t seem like the winning streak is going to end any time soon. The Clips’ next six games go at Utah, vs. Cleveland, at Denver, vs. Detroit, vs. Milwaukee and at New Orleans. There is a back-to-back mixed in there, but the Clippers will be heavy favorites in each of those games. Could this team enter a road stretch of Dallas, Houston, Minnesota and Phoenix on a 15-game winning streak? It seems more and more possible with each win.
- Fred Katz

Second Day Story
Danny Granger had easily his best game as a Clipper with 18 points while using only 13 possessions. But before we declare him the panacea to the wing depth issues, tonight’s opponents included a cautionary tale about getting too excited over one performance from an enigmatic bench player. Last night against Dallas, Jordan Crawford had 19 points on only 12 possessions. Tonight? Zilch on 0-5 shooting.

Let’s see Granger make the same assortment of spot-ups, pull-ups and leaners again against Utah or Cleveland. More importantly, let’s see him do it again versus a team with something to play for. Anyone can be a star for a day. What the Clippers need is not a one day-a-week star, but a reliable assembly-line worker. It’s great that Granger still has something, but does he have anything left for tomorrow and the next day and the say after?
- Seth Partnow

Mythical Creature
I had a whole theme for this post, a think-piece about the Clippers’ chances in ugly games. Games in which the jumpers aren’t falling, length is bothering Chris Paul and/or Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick are in street clothes. I was going to write about how this was one of those games, uglier than the matching wispy goatees on the barely post-pubescent ‘Splash Brothers,’ and how the Clippers finally had the horses in Granger, Big Baby, Collison, and a streaking Matt Barnes to overcome these less-than-beautiful nights. But then, streaking in from mid-court my plans were ruined by THE FLYIN’ LION!!!!!! How could I even think about anything else?

Blake Griffin has had some spectacular nights lately, but he hasn’t had the sort of explosive highlights that have characterized his previous seasons, instead relying on jumpers, made free throws, and a new-and-improved slick (if unspectacular) set of post moves. That (by his standards) YouTube drought ended tonight, with what was perhaps Blake’s most amazing play that didn’t involve the names Mozgov, Perkins, or Gallinari.

He came flying out of nowhere, from way off screen, to catch a missed Danny Granger 3-point try in his right hand and tomahawk it through the hoop. It gave the Clippers a seven-point lead with just over eight minutes to play, but more importantly it almost brought the house down around the Warriors. The Warriors rushed their next play, a missed Klay Thompson jumper, and then Draymond Green took a silly cheap shot foul at Griffin in the open court. They were out of sorts and the Clippers were inspired. Though it didn’t put the game away for good, it was a huge moment.

What I really want to know, though, is how long Ralph Lawler had that nickname up his sleeve.
- Ben Mesirow

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Jovan Buha

Senior Contributor at ClipperBlog
Jovan Buha is a staff writer and Digital Content Programmer at FOX Sports. He also contributes to ESPN Los Angeles’ Clippers and Lakers coverage. Jovan graduated from USC with a degree in Print & Digital Journalism and a minor in Sports Media Studies in 2014.
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  • Polotip

    “The Flying Lion” indeed. I say we run with it!

    • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

      if you want to be cheesy you could use “Blake Griffon”, the real mythical creature… hahahaha…

  • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

    And that’s how a fresh start can do wonders for anyone. Sure, Granger
    won’t put 18 pts every night but regardless, he has been playing well,
    he has been shooting good FG%, his defense is picking up, his length has
    played a big role defensively, he is still a bit rusty but again, the
    Clippers didn’t signed him to save the world, they did a safe bet on his
    potential and so far it has been paying off pretty good.

    That’s his potential, to play his role and ocasionaly or even
    consitently have a good night. Clippers don’t need him to be The guy off
    the bench, they have Crawford, they don’t need him to be a defensive
    stopper, he just need to have better feet or hands than Dudley, he won’t
    play slower than Dudley. There is no negative pressure like he had, he
    can just come and play, do what he know he can. People ignore how the
    mental part plays a big role on players.

    There were a lot of people bashing on Granger due to his stats, his FG%, that he was too slow, etc. Stats and numbers are great but only when you know how to use them, stats without context is pretty misleading.

    What was the context? The whole situation on the Pacers, George
    rising while he was hurt, Pacers seeing him as a dead weight and trying
    to make the best out of the situation by using him off the bench while
    he was still on contract and also knowing that he wouldn’t get his
    extension because they prefered Lance. I’m not painting Pacers as bad
    guys, this is business and Granger understands that but regardless of
    that, there is no way these things wouldn’t affect you mentally, even
    more when your body doesn’t respond as it used to, when you feel just a
    shadow of your former self.

    Players are humans and the mental block is a big road block that people often ignores.

    • Alfredo Rodriguez

      No doubt the transition from face of the franchise to trade bait affected Granger tremendously. On the day he was injured, the Pacers knew his glory days were over, but they couldn’t move him until their new recruits of Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, Paul George and George Hill panned out into basketball players. They gave up on Granger because it was the only way for the Pacers to defeat the Heat – make it all about business, leave your personal issues at home.

      Doc got Granger so that the Clippers could have a True Big 3. DeAndre Jordan is not a superstar yet, not to the media anyway. He doesn’t have a DPOY award, nor has he appeared in an All Star game. The rebounding title won’t get him far; all it does is proves that he has an elite skill. Granger has an All Star appearance, plus he’s been a face of a franchise before. You can see from last night’s game that his own game is returning; he is slowly regaining his superstar status. Once the playoffs hit, Granger takes the starting small forward spot. He becomes Doc’s Paul Pierce. They will have three superstars in Chris Paul, Danny Granger and Blake Griffin – all capable of taking over at crucial points in a game.

      Now that the Clippers have three legitimate superstars, they can finally defeat some teams they couldn’t beat before. For what the Warriors did to get Griffin ejected on Christmas night and forcing the Clippers into contemplating on trading him for Carmelo Anthony following the rigged game, acquiring a third superstar was extremely necessary. Now they have a shot at defeating the Warriors once and for all. As for the Spurs, their biggest hurdle, every one of those players will need to reference Basketball Reference and be prepared to break their own personal records.

      • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

        Doc didn’t get him so he could have a Big 3 or that Granger would be a Super Star, chances of granger be back next season are very slim to none as well. Doc brought him because he is talented, he is a vet, he can be a serious contributor to the team.

        Doc is a very realistic guy, this Big 3 you say is pretty unrealistic for now and moreover, the Clippers are not made for a Big 3 other than the Big Duo + DJ.

        The way the team is constructed and with Blake’s skills, this is exactly what you need and Granger was never a Super Star, he was never even an All-NBA, he was an All-Star, which is very different.

        DJ needs to mature as a player, when he is under the basket, he usually goes too hard, he needs to learn how to develop a soft touch around the rim as well, lots of times he misses the basket for always going brute force with it, including that wedgie dunk.

        Granger can still be good and even go back to play at a high level but Clippers can only take advantage of him now, next season Clippers won’t have the money to keep him, not without some serious moves or with Granger taking much less than he could.

        • Alfredo Rodriguez

          I posed this question to Fred Katz, but he never answered this live, so I’ll pose this to you so that you could forward it to Steve Perrin and Mark Travis. Do the Clippers have a legitimate Big 3? Right now, what I see are two superstars (Paul and Griffin) and the third of the Big 3 is a wild card. One day, it’s Matt Barnes, the next Jamal Crawford, then J.J. Redick, then Darren Collison. I don’t see a Big 3. I think it’s starting to look more like a Dynamic Duo in the vein of Kobe & Shaq or Kobe & Gasol. In other words, the Clippers are starting to become more and more like the Lakers, ironically with the Lakers slumping and all that. The difference here is that they have shades of Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp and John Stockton & Karl Malone mixed in, making for a new generation of Dynamic Duos. Is this a Dynamic Duo or a Big 3? Until Jordan wins the DPOY award and/or gets the All Star appearance, DJ is still a role player. Marc Gasol became an All Star and won DPOY in the same year last season, so that’s my barometer of judging DJ’s ascendance to superstar-hood.

          • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

            Damn, I lost everything I wrote so I’ll make just a summary in some parts.

            I don’t have contact with Steve or Mark.

            Clippers don’t have a Big 3 and they don’t need one, this whole thing is not really important. The requirements for a Big 3 are complicated and generally involves sacrifices.

            Taking into account how CP3 and Blake plays, their skill set, they are better off as a dynamic duo with complementary role players.

            DJ is not really a natural great defensive guy, if he was, he would already showed that before, so his ceiling is lower when compared to guys that have the feel and instincts for playing great D and from now on, everything will need harder work.

            What DJ can do though is become a truly solid player, something that he is not yet. He does impact the game and he has improved remendously but he still lets bigs drive around him – even Gasol did so and he is not known for being neither athletic or quick. He needs to stay on his feet, not falling for fakes, even more when guarding shooters. At times there are lapses when he miss the rotation or doesn’t provide the weak side help. He needs to work on his footwork, this is the best way to keep his ground when guarding someone and also offensively.

            And offensively he needs to understand that you got to know the time to go hard and when to go soft around the basket, being over aggressive doesn’t lead to the best result all the time. It would be nice if DJ can at least add a hook shot, so even when Blake is not on the court they still have an inside-out game with him if needed.

            The whole Big 3 by Doc was just to boost guys’ confidence, Blake wasn’t even this New Blake* we watch now and that is a Super Star. But it’s not just for show eiher, that’s a way of Doc holding guys accountable and demanding them to step up to this role he knows they can get.

            Anyway, this whole Big 3 thing, if they are going to have it or not is not relevant for the team, they don’t need it, the team is already being construct in order to optimize and maximize both Blake and CP3. Shooters and a defensive big that can protect the rim, no one that will demand more usage than Blake and CP3, as I said, complementary role players. Off the bench you usually need one or two good defenders and either a guys that can create his own shot or a defensive stopper. Celtics had better defensive guys than scorers, Clippers is getting into a really nice blench and balance between offense and defense. I really hope Redick comes back healthy, I really do, he makes me 25% more confident on the Clippers.

            *about the New Blake, remember when I told you how I sensed that Blake started playing like that against the Spurs, mid-Decemeber? And in the other game, in the last game against Spurs, Mike Smith came out with the exactly same line before the game started. He said that for him it was that night that this New Blake began, that it was the game he got to the line a lot, started to knock down FT, he was more aggressive attacking the basket and he started shooting with more confidence. This doesn’t prove anything, but at least it shows that it wasn’t just me that noticed a difference from that game on.

  • just win

    oh boy now mark Jackson sending his thugs 2 bump rush blake off the court blake needs body guards 4 these idiots cannot except losing 2 the high flying blake griffin and company sore losers they should get more angry about the spurs they’re in 1st place what dumbness get your priorities right nice game by danny granger like his defense and shot making we surely needed it nice defensive game by dj again big baby nice job wilie green nice play what happen 2 cp3 shot and confidence looks disoriented not the same guy is he still hurting ?


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