(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Buzzer Reaction
 Los Angeles Clippers |
 Oklahoma City Thunder |
MVP: Kevin Durant had a typically ridiculous 36-point, eight-rebound, six-assist performance, and Westbrook nearly triple-doubled for the fourth time this postseason, but MVP for this game has to go to Serge Ibaka, who scored 20 on 9-of-10 shooting and played in control despite struggling with foul trouble for the entire game.
That was … everything and more: After a pair of double-digit losses either way, this game had giant individual performances on both sides, flaring tempers, highlight-reel dunks, blocks, crossovers and even blood (from Blake Griffin’s nose). It was essentially all you could ask for out of playoff basketball.
Defining moment: After a Griffin layup pulled the Clippers within one with 2:33 to play, Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back out to four. That was just the thing the Thunder needed to establish a buffer, and the Clippers would never get closer than that down the stretch.
– Steve McPherson
Awards season
#BlakeFace
How's mine? RT @anthonyVslater: #BlakeGriffinFace: pic.twitter.com/T9G349U8pS
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 10, 2014
Tweet(s) Of The Game
MY WATER! RT @DanWoikeSports look at Thabo just holding that water like he owns the place pic.twitter.com/ebe2HjUNOC
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 10, 2014
Waiting for Thabo to come Google something on my computer.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 10, 2014
The Clippers scored 63 points in the half. The Wizards scored 63 points in the game.
— Danny Savitzky (@DannySavitzky) May 10, 2014
Blake's blood is flopping.
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) May 10, 2014
NOBODY MAKES ME BLEED MY OWN BLOOD. pic.twitter.com/LmzDhHNBMz
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 10, 2014
Unconfirmed, but the Clippers' cheerleaders feel more comfortable without sideline leering of DTS.
— Andrew Han (@andrewthehan) May 10, 2014
Sixth man of the year gets a call on the MVP. So there.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) May 10, 2014
Every home game, Tyronn Lue has to sit right in the exact spot where AI stepped over him
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) May 10, 2014
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 | DNP INACTIVE | |||||||||||||
| Big Baby, PF | 11 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -12 | 2 |
| Total | 11 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -12 | 2 |
(Photo via NBA.com/Stats)
ClipperBlog Live’s Best Moment
Fred and Law talk about another tremendous performance from Russell Westbrook and wonder if there’s anything the Clippers can do to stop him.
Check Your Messages
Where’s J.J.?
Why did Jamal Crawford play in the closing minutes of this one? Yes, this is mostly hindsight as it took me quite a bit to realize, “Hey, J.J. Redick can defend somewhat and sort of help on the boards, he should be in this game.” Sure, J.J. didn’t make an inconsequential heave with five ticks to go, but it’s not exactly as if Oklahoma City would leave him open. He could have spread the floor just the same as Crawford and not have hurt the Clippers in the manner Jamal did.
Westbrook’s huge pull-up three on the switched pick-and-roll was due to Crawford’s over-sagging on the play, and the Thunder managed to grab all of the offensive boards despite playing their small lineup down the stretch. Would Redick being in the game have secured the win? Probably not, but one could imagine some of these late-game issues being alleviated with his presence.
- David Vertsberger
A Whole Different Game
DeAndre Jordan posted a double-double, compiling 10 points to go with his 11 rebounds and three blocks. In an age where the center position is considered “dead,” those are decent enough numbers. Except, there’s supposed to be less of this. This being whatever happened tonight. Less of watching Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson prance to the rim unimpeded, over and over again.
The Thunder went small for long stretches, hiding Kevin Durant on Jordan and still rendering him useless on offense. Serge Ibaka filled in the lanes repeatedly, making jump shot after jump shot. Durant rose over the top of the defense, finding open shooter after open shooter. The faulty defense isn’t all Jordan’s fault. And OKC’s offense, when clicking, is frighteningly unstoppable.
It’s just that, after such a dominant performance where we saw Jordan grab the right side of the backboard while pinning Stephen Curry’s shot on the left side, we didn’t want to feel comfortable watching Westbrook leap right over Jordan for a rebound. Alas, the Thunder own two of the best players in the world, and sometimes, it makes what looked like one of the best defensive centers in the league look really, really small.
- Andy Liu
Going Cold At The Wrong Time
After an impressive shooting performance in Game 1, the Clippers have cooled off considerably. They’ve been missing a lot of wide open shots, in particular. Tonight they went 15 of 34 on uncontested jumpers (44.1 percent), according to NBA.com/Stats. For comparison’s sake, the Thunder were 18 of 32 (56.3 percent). The volume of open shots is also a steep drop-off from Games 1 (58 attempts) and 2 (50 attempts). It’s simple: if you miss open shots, you’re probably going to lose.
- Jovan Buha at FOX Sports West
