The Clippers had a chance to take control of their series with the Mavericks in Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Los Angeles, but instead they stunk up the joint in the second half and got blown out, 123-93, to fall behind 3-2 as the series shifts to Dallas for Friday night’s Game 6.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard in Game 5, as he continues to deal with an injury to his right knee. Los Angeles had won the other two games in the series that Leonard had missed, which makes Wednesday night’s performance even harder for fans to understand.
Paul Pierce didn’t hold back on the Clippers on FS1’s Unidisputed, calling them a moody team.
The Clippers, who won Game 4 in Dallas without Leonard, will need to turn things completely around in Game 6 or their season could come to an abrupt end.
The Los Angeles Clippers had a prime opportunity to seize control of their series against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5. Instead, Paul George and Co. got blown at home, losing 123-93, and are now facing elimination in Friday night's Game 6 in Dallas.
George had a bad night for the Clippers, scoring just 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting. The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard and needed their other star to come out and set the tone for the team in a huge game, but that didn't come close to happening.
George spoke after the game, saying, "You work your tail off all summer. You train for these moments. To where, if you fail, you fail. Live with the results."
Shaquille O'Neal was not a fan of those comments and explained why during Thursday night's Inside the NBA:
Paul George: You work your tail off all summer. You train for these moments. To where, if you fail, you fail. Live with the results."
Shaq and Chuck don't agree.
Shaq: When you're that guy, you get all the money you get all the praise, you are expected to step up. pic.twitter.com/NyQH9qhrb7
Leonard will be out again for Game 6, so the Clippers will need George to put Game 5 behind him in a hurry or the franchise will have another early exit from the NBA playoffs.
The Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks 114-101 in Game 6 on Friday night, ending their season short of the lofty goals set before them.
With his team out of the playoffs, and the Los Angeles Lakers sporting one of the most sought-after coaching openings in the NBA, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was forced to address his future in the wake of Friday's loss. Lue has been reported as one of the Lakers' top targets, while a separate report indicated that the Clippers are very interested in retaining him.
As for Lue, he'd prefer to stick around with the Clippers.
"I didn't come here to bounce around and go all over the place," Lue said in the wake of his team's 114-101 loss. "Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence [Frank], Mark [Hughes] and Trent [Redden] have all been great to me. This is where I want to be. Hopefully they feel the same way."
Clippers coach Ty Lue on his future: “I didn’t come here to bounce around and go all over the place. Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence (Frank), Mark (Hughes), and Trent (Redden) have all been great to me. This is where I want to be. Hopefully, they feel the same way.” pic.twitter.com/4OC6FsYzNN
Time will tell whether or not Lue will ultimately remain with the Clippers, who enter the offseason with plenty of roster questions ahead of next season. What happens with James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and ultimately Lue, will determine whether or not the Clippers remain competitive next season.
Before they could get comfortable at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics opened up a 17-point lead after 12 minutes—the biggest lead for any team in the first quarter of a Game 1 in NBA Finals history. Boston continued to pile on and led by as many as 29 points in the second quarter before Dallas began chipping away.
The Mavericks trimmed the deficit to eight points in the third quarter but weren't able to fully complete the comeback, losing 107–89. If they did, it would've made NBA history.
The largest comeback in a single NBA playoff games is 31 points, set in 2019 when the Los Angeles Clippers erased a 31-point deficit to win Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers outscored Golden State 85–58 in the second half to win that game.
But as far as the NBA Finals goes, the biggest comeback was when the Celtics battled back from 24 points down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals.
DATE
MATCHUP
DEFICIT
FINAL SCORE
June 12, 2008
Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers led by 24 points
Celtics 97, Lakers 91
The Celtics entered Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals holding a 2–1 series lead. They swept the first two games of the series at TD Banknorth Garden and lost 87–81 in an ugly defensive battle in Game 3 at then-Staples Center.
Los Angeles came out hot in the first quarter of Game 4, shooting 64.7% from the field and taking a 35–14 lead after 12 minutes while the Celtics shot just 27.3% (6 of 22). The Lakers built it up to a 24-point lead in the second quarter when Sasha Vujacic drained a three-pointer off a pass from Kobe Bryant to make it 45–21.
The score remained 45–21 for nearly two minutes of game time, as the teams exchanged misses, until Celtics forward Kevin Garnet knocked down a mid-range jumper. And the Celtics' comeback began.
Boston still trailed the Lakers by 18 points at halftime but came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles 31–15. They tied the game at 73 with 10:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, and took their first lead of the game at 84–83 with 4:07 remaining. From there, they closed out on a 13–8 run to win 97–91 and take a 3–1 series lead.
The Lakers led for 40:30 of game time. They couldn't miss in the first half but shot just 33.3% from the field in the final two quarters, missing all eight attempts from downtown. Bryant and Pau Gasol logged a plus/minus of -24 in the second half.
Garnet tallied a double-double in 37 minutes, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. But it was James Posey providing the spark off the bench, logging 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting and nailing four three-pointers.
Facing a 24-point deficit in the NBA Finals? As Garnett would go on to say after Boston claimed Game 6 and were crowned champions, anything is possible.
