(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Buzzer Reaction
 Los Angeles Clippers |
110 | 103 |  Brooklyn Nets |
No Daily Dime tonight.
Tweet of the Night
If you want to play for the Brooklyn Nets tonight, come on down to Staples Center and ask for "Jason." They're looking for guys.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) November 17, 2013
The Clippers now have a longer sellout streak than the Lakers do. #signofthetimes
— Larry Coon (@LarryCoon) November 17, 2013
Efficiency Flow
The Depth Charge
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Mullens, C | 10 | 4–4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +3 | 10 |
| Ryan Hollins, C | 5 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 4 |
| Antawn Jamison, PF | DNP COACH’S DECISION | |||||||||||||
| Total | 15 | 6-6 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -2 | 14 |
ClipperBlog Live’s Best Moment
Andrew wears his furry Russian hat. That should entice you enough.
Check Your Messages
Get Well Soon
It’s an epidemic that’s sweeping the nation, from Cleveland to Indiana all the way to New Orleans. This October, it hit Brooklyn. When Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce touched ground in Brooklyn, suitcases in hand, they brought with them a veneer of suave veteran leadership, perceived defensive chops and an arsenal of readily employable firepower. Yet they had room enough for one extra thing: The mid-range jumper; an airborne disease that can infect even the most potent of NBA offences and render them inefficient.
Between Deron Williams in the pick-and-roll, iso Jo, KG’s tendency to pop 20 feet out and Paul Pierce’s elbow step back, the Nets shoot 21 percent of their shots from the mid-range area, a figure that’s top 10 in the NBA. It’s not as if Williams, Johnson and Pierce can’t extend their range to ungodly distances either. Yet by some means, the Nets are among the league’s bottom five in the percentage of points they accumulate from beyond the arc. Worse yet, they shoot the third-least corner threes in the NBA. Yes, Brooklyn is armed with players who’ve built Hall of Fame careers on long twos, but the adage remains: 33 percent accuracy from deep is worth the same amount of points as 50 percent accuracy from a few steps inside the line.
On average, the Nets take 16.9 threes per night. Tonight, in the absence of Pierce, Garnett and Williams, they attempted 23 and connected on a potent 39 percent of them. Alan Anderson in particular, who started in place of Pierce, nailed four of his seven attempts. That and their 22 free throws aided the Nets to 103 points on 85 shots and almost, a victory against the Clippers. For the Nets and their fans, here’s hoping a few days off act as a disinfectant and contaminate this offense with what it really needs: better shot selection.
– Seerat Sohi
The New Fastbreak
For the past two years the archetypal Clippers fast-break has been defined by the alley-oops of DeAndre Jordan or Blake Griffin. While the demise of Lob City is much exaggerated, that mold has been broken this season. One’s just as likely to see Paul gliding down the lane with J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley on each wing as they are to see Griffin or Jordan’s aerial acrobatics. Excitement in diversity.
– Jacob Frankel
Find Your Way Back
Every now and again Prime Ticket throws a curve ball as it cuts to commercial. Tonight, instead of using the standard FOX audio transition clip heading to halftime, the programming crew went a little Jefferson Starship.
It was like a harbinger for the Blake Griffin injury scare. Find your way back? Gone were the criticisms of Griffin’s defensive learning curve, whether he needlessly hesitates at the nail or elbow, if his shooting is or is not improving. All I could think about was the burden of expectation Griffin carries, and then the singular hope that it was not a career altering ailment (nevermind season threatening).
Cuts to the heart became moot, though, as Griffin found steady ground upon his return; blocking a shot at the rim and then detonating a series of slams. He let out a sheepish grin postgame, revealing relief that his initial fears were unfounded. Even Redick gave slight needle to it postgame, chalking up the fright to Griffin’s acting ability.
And now I don’t care about the tight match against a depleted opponent; the struggles of Chris Paul, the question marks enveloping the bench, how people may think Griffin an actor. But the momentary fear was real; the walk off the court and visceral hand slap of the hallway. I’m just glad he was okay and Blake found his way back.
– Andrew Han
Nightmare Start
During the first two-and-a-half quarters Saturday night, Doc Rivers’ pregame concerns came to fruition.
With Brooklyn Nets stars Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Brook Lopez all sitting out because of injuries, the Los Angeles Clippers coach had worried his team would get off to a slow start and fail to match the energy of Nets’ new starters.
“These games like tonight are very difficult because you have one team that is free and a has a bunch of pros who want to show everybody that they should be playing,” Rivers said. “They’re going to play at an unbelievable clip as far as intensity. Then you have another team who thought they were playing other guys, so it’ll be interesting. [These games] scare me.”
Indeed, the Clippers started off sluggishly, trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half and 11 in the second half. After he briefly left the game for a couple of minutes in the third quarter because of a left ankle injury, Blake Griffin’s dramatic return sparked the Clippers’ third-quarter rally.
The Clippers once again played down to the level of their opponent, which cost them games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic earlier in the season. This time, though, they were lucky enough to sneak out with a close win.
– Jovan Buha, at ESPN LA
