How did the Clippers do it? They went on a 28-3 run to close out Sunday night’s game and steal a dramatic 99-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. If you want to see how they did it, above you can see all the baskets of that run. There are some easy buckets inside and Nick Young raining down threes.
Memphis slipped on defense, but the bigger problem was their offense disapeared — they stopped pounding the ball inside with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and the good looks they did get they just missed. It snowballed. And every miss fueled the Clippers, who to the credit of the young team did not roll over.
We thought going in this would be the best series of the first round, but who saw this coming?
Hat tip to Eye on Basketball.
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For the 145th time since they joined forces in Miami, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh finished as the Heat’s top three scorers. For the first time in the 2013 calendar year, the fourth-leading scorer – Chris Andersen – scored more than 15 points. It’s been much less of a concern that many expected…
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Paul George introduces himself too much of America with a breakout game… that got overshadowed
May 23, 2013, 2:08 AM EDT
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America, meet Paul George. He’s the Pacer that hit the insane, dramatic three pointer that sent Game 1 against the Heat into overtime. He’s the guy that drew the superstar call on Dwyane Wade then with ice water in his veins hit three free throws to give Indiana the lead with 2.2 seconds left in…
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Pacers’ coach Vogel explains decision to bench Hibbert late, says ‘we’ll probably have him in next time’
May 23, 2013, 1:49 AM EDT
The Heat came away with the 103-102 overtime victory over the Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, thanks to a triple-double performance from LeBron James, which included hitting the game-winning layup as time expired. The words “game-winning layup” should never be a relevant phrase this deep into the postseason; teams normally defend…
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LeBron’s triple-double, game-winner in overtime lead Heat to Game 1 win over Pacers
May 23, 2013, 1:16 AM EDT
The Pacers gave the Heat all they wanted in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but in the end, the game’s best player — along with some questionable coaching strategy down the stretch — was too much for Indiana to overcome. LeBron James finished with a triple-double line of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and…
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LeBron’s game-winning layup at the overtime buzzer gives Heat Game 1 win over Pacers (VIDEO)
May 23, 2013, 12:28 AM EDT
Getty Images
Paul George hit a big time shot at the end of regulation to get the Pacers to overtime, but once we got to the end of the extra session, LeBron James took his turn at the last-second heroics. With the Heat trailing by one and 2.2 seconds remaining, James receives the inbounds pass and immediately…
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Pacers’ Paul George hits the three to send Game 1 vs. Heat into overtime (VIDEO)
May 22, 2013, 11:50 PM EDT
At the beginning of this possession, it looked like Paul George of the Pacers made a huge mistake by not raising up for the shot when he first received the ball at the top of the arc. As the seconds ticked away and with the Pacers down three, things seemed to be breaking down to…
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Carmelo Anthony’s shoulder was clearly bothering him through much of the playoffs, but he fought through it as best he could averaging 28.8 points per game (on just 40.1 percent shooting, down from 44 in the regular season) with 6.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He injured it in Game 5 against the Celtics and went…
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LeBron loves that Coach K is back with Team USA, but will he play in 2016?
May 22, 2013, 9:02 PM EDT
AP
Mike Krzyzewski coming back to coach Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics is certainly a good step toward another gold medal for the Americans. Coach K has been 62-1 at the helm of USA Basketball. But it’s not the biggest key. That would be getting LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the elite talent of…
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Economists have done countless studies that show the economic impact of major league sports — and especially the impact of building new arenas and stadiums — are pretty negligible, often even painful for individual cities. I believe that. But it’s still hard to explain just what it meant to Charlotte to get the Hornets. We…
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Report: Mike D’Antoni will not return as Team USA assistant coach
May 22, 2013, 7:32 PM EDT
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We mentioned this in our story telling you Mike Krzyzewski will be back as head coach of Team USA for the 2016 Olympics — there might be some changes to his staff. One bit of news is in — Mike D’Antoni is out as an assistant coach, reports Marc Berman at the New York Post.…
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Reuters
Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points. • Knicks GM Glen Grunwald says after his exit meeting with Jason Kidd, he…
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AP
For the next few weeks PBT will be profiling likely first-round draft picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Today we talk about one of the best dunker’s in the game right now. San Diego State is turning out some talent under Steve Fisher the last few years. That Kawhi Leonard guy is giving the Grizzlies…
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Report: Mavericks looking to move No. 13 pick to clear out cap space for run at Howard, CP3
May 22, 2013, 3:43 PM EDT
AP
It’s no secret that the Dallas Mavericks want to get a big star to pair with — and eventually take over the franchise mantle from — Dirk Nowitzki. And there are only two franchise-caliber players on the market this season, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. But to offer a max contract Dallas has to make…
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Kevin Durant’s large back tattoo finished… except maybe for a typo
May 22, 2013, 3:21 PM EDT
via sniperjones35 on Instagram
Kevin Durant has a plenty of business tattoos — he’s got ink, just not where it shows when wearing a basketball uniform. Somehow this shocked people, although if most of those people saw the 25-year-old from accounting they think so highly of out on the weekend they’d find he has ink under his suit to.…
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AP
Not that there was any real question after he played in Game 5 against the Bulls then had a week off to rest his bruised knee but now it is official: Dwyane Wade will play for the Heat in Game 1 against the Pacers Wednesday night. So reports Tim Reynolds of the AP and the…
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There is no need to panic Spurs fans. Not yet. Tony Parker has been playing through a sore calf for a while now and playing well — to the tune of 14 points and 18 assists in the Spurs overtime win Tuesday night. But after the game he was limping a little around the locker…
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Report: Mike Krzyzewski to return, coach Team USA in 2016 Olympics
May 22, 2013, 1:09 PM EDT
Reuters
Looks like Kevin Love will not have to do any recruiting after all. After saying before, during and immediately after Team USA won the gold medal in London last summer that he was done as the head coach of the team, Mike Krzyzewski has had a change of heart. Coach K will be back to…
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Clippers’ owner basically admits Del Negro let go to keep Chris Paul happy
May 22, 2013, 12:55 PM EDT
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We said as much in our story telling you Vinny Del Negro was not coming back to the Clippers — this was what Chris Paul wanted. Clippers owner Donald Sterling personally liked Del Negro a lot and was his biggest supporter in the organization, so something had to override that. It was free agent to…
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LeBron says he isn’t afraid to challenge Hibbert at the rim. But watch for floaters anyway.
May 22, 2013, 11:54 AM EDT
Reuters
If you want to know what happens when you to right at Indiana’s Roy Hibbert at the rim, watch the video above or ask Carmelo Anthony — Hibbert sent him back dramatically in Game 6 last round. It changed the momentum of the game that eventually sent the Knicks fishing for the summer. So, LeBron…
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Reports: Clippers, Bucks waiting to talk to Lionel Hollins for coaching jobs
May 22, 2013, 11:14 AM EDT
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Whenever the Memphis Grizzlies’ season ends — which could be sooner rather than later if they don’t start cutting off Tony Parker at the point of attack, but that’s another post — Lionel Hollins is going to be a popular guy. Hollins’ contract is up as coach of the end of this season, and while…
