In Paul Pierce’s 28th start for his hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers stormed back from a 22-point deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder and earned a gigantic victory toward their potential playoff seeding.
Despite playing just under 15 minutes, The Truth hit two three-pointers and added four rebounds and an assist in the come from behind 103-98 victory. Coach Doc Rivers continues to keep an eye toward the postseason as he determines Paul’s usage and while No. 34 played under 20 minutes for the fourth time in six starts since the All-Star break, keeping his body in condition for the playoffs, the Clippers helped their postseason odds too, gaining a full game in the Western Conference standings on No. 3 OKC.
L.A. had to work hard to reach that point. The Clips trailed by 22 points just before halftime and No. 34 canned a key three early out of the break, but Los Angeles still began the fourth quarter in a 17-point hole. However, in the fourth quarter, the Clippers rallied behind their defense, scoring 13 points off six turnovers and held the Thunder to 5-of-20 shooting from the floor, including 0-for-7 from three, to come back and pull off an unlikely victory.
“Our intensity was key,” said point guard Chris Paul, who scored a team-high 21 points with 13 assists. “The defense picked up in the second half. I was out to start the fourth quarter, and Jamal Crawford looked at me and said: ‘We are going to get us back in this thing by the time you guys (the starters) get back in.’ I don’t know if he’s a fortune teller, but he did it.”
The game started well enough for the Clippers.With a catch-and-shoot three, No. 34 gave the Clippers their first lead, by a score of 8-7. L.A. held onto the advantage until OKC’s dynamic duo caught fire and pulled Oklahoma City out to a lead that nearly lasted the rest of the night.
First it was Kevin Durant, who euro-stepped to the rim for a bucket to tie it at 11-11. Moments later, Durant’s running mate Russell Westbrook used the same aggressiveness to get to the basket, drawing the foul for a three-point play. Durant then followed with a four-point play when he drew contact on a pull-up triple in transition. After he knocked down the and-one free throw, the Thunder led 18-11.
Oklahoma City took the lead at 6:39 of the first quarter, and the next one didn’t occur until center DeAndre Jordan tipped one in to put the Clippers up 98-97 with 1:12 to go in the fourth.
“We just kind of turned our defense up and played the way we were supposed to play,” said Jordan, who grabbed a game-high 18 boards.
The rebounding battle also factored into the lopsided nature of the game, as well as it did L.A.’s comeback. The Thunder held a 50-31 rebounding advantage through the first three quarters, but the Clips held a slight 14-13 edge on the glass in the final frame. In the lone period that the Clippers out-rebounded the Thunder, they also outscored them 35-13, ending the game on a 26-5 surge.
Durant had 11 of OKC’s rebounds to go with 30 points, while Westbrook neared a triple-double with 24 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. After their early spurt, Oklahoma City pulled out to a lead of 13 points at the end of the first quarter. That advantage swelled as high as 22 with 1:17 to go in the first half.
But when the fourth quarter began, the game tipped back in favor of Los Angeles. The Clips scored the first six points of the final frame, thanks to layups from Austin Rivers and Cole Aldrich, and a tip-in from Jamal Crawford. Offensive rebounds continued to pay dividends down the stretch.
With just over five minutes remaining, and the deficit still 14 points, Jordan grabbed an offensive board for Wesley Johnson to nail a three-pointer, the first of two in a row for the veteran swingman. When Johnson buried another trey mere moments later, it brought the Clippers within single digits, 95-87.
“Every time I came to the bench, they said ‘Keep shooting,’” said Johnson, who totaled 11 points despite his 1-of-11 start. “I couldn’t be bashful. … They kept putting that battery in my back to keep shooting, and they went in.”
Jordan gave L.A. their first lead of the second half with another offensive board, a tip-in to put the Clippers ahead 98-97 with 1:12 remaining in regulation. Jordan was also fouled on the play and hit the free throw to make the lead two. Crawford followed with an outstanding bank shot to double the lead to four, 101-97, with 38.6 seconds to go. On OKC’s ensuing trip, Durant was fouled, but the star forward hit just one of two free throws. The Thunder got the stop they needed on L.A.’s next possession, but Westbrook misfired on a potential game-tying three and J.J. Redick then iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final six seconds of the contest.
With the win, the Clippers avenged another nail-biter, a 100-99 loss to the Thunder on Dec. 21. When these Western competitors clash, thrilling basketball seems to ensue. The good news is that L.A. (40-20) and Oklahoma City (42-19) meet twice more in March, where the currently fourth-seeded Clippers will look to gain even more ground in the standings.
NEXT UP
After their thrilling comeback against Oklahoma City, the Clippers have a few days to regroup before they welcome the Atlanta Hawks (33-28) to the Staples Center on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. PT tilt.
The Hawks, who are headed by power forward Paul Millsap (17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest), hope to rebound Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers after narrowly falling to the defending champion Golden State Warriors (54-5) in overtime on Tuesday, 109-105.
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