LOS ANGELES – It had to end eventually, and you just knew it would end like this.
After 30 lead changes, 16 ties and seven games of pure fun and fury, Chris Paul – on one leg with a hamstring injury -- hit a running one-hander over Tim Duncan with one second left to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 111-109 victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of their incredible first-round series on Saturday.
The Clippers move on to face the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. The defending champs go home – because somebody had to.
Paul had 27 points and six rebounds, Blake Griffin had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and Matt Barnes had 17 for the Clippers. The incredible Duncan led the Spurs with 27 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the oldest player, at age 39, to post four 20-point, 10-rebound games in a playoff series. Tony Parker had 20 points for the Spurs, and Kawhi Leonard had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Here's what we learned:
1. We won't see a better series than this the rest of the playoffs.
The air came out of the Bulls-Cavs series when Kevin Love was lost for the rest of the postseason with a dislocated shoulder. The Warriors and Grizzlies will be an interesting contrast in styles, but come one. The Clippers and Rockets will be loaded with star power, and if they make it there, the Clippers and Warriors will bring their intense rivalry to the Western Conference Finals. But none of them will be this close, this dramatic, this well played. This Game 7 lived up to the hype – and more. It's just a shame somebody had to go home.
2. Doc shuts down Hack-a-DJ – at what price?
Gregg Popovich has made liberal use of the Hack-a-DJ strategy against DeAndre Jordan in the series, but when he tried it in the third quarter, Doc Rivers yanked Jordan after the first intentional foul – after which Jordan missed both free throws. Same result when Pop tried it again in the fourth – Rivers subbed Jordan out after making 1 of 2 from the line. But with Jordan on the bench, the Spurs overwhelmed the Clippers on the offensive glass in the closing minutes as they mounted the rally of a champion that fell short. With the Clippers moving on to face the Rockets, with equally poor free-throw shooter Dwight Howard, their conference semifinals series threatens to disintegrate into a Hack-a-Thon – which will only create momentum for the competition committee to outlaw the practice at this July's meeting in Las Vegas.
3. When the mighty fall, they fall fast
Manu Ginobili was a non-factor in the series, and his decline was evident during most of the 18 minutes he logged in Game 7. Ginobili came in shooting 34 percent from the field in the first six games and failed to make more than three baskets in any of the seven games. At age 37, Ginobili is a free agent this summer, and there are no guarantees he'll be back for his 14th season. Nonetheless, Ginobili made what could've been one of the biggest plays in the game late in the third. With the Clippers having a foul to give, Ginobili anticipated contact from Austin Rivers and chucked a three-quarter-length shot – and got the call. He only made 2 of 3 from the line, Paul answered with a 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer to give the Clippers a 79-78 lead heading into the fourth.
SERIES RESULTS
Game 1 – Sun April 19
L.A. Clippers 107, San Antonio 92
Game 2 - Wed April 22
San Antonio 111, L.A. Clippers 107 (OT)
Game 3 – Fri April 24
San Antonio 100, Los Angeles Clippers 73
Game 4 – Sun April 26
Los Angeles Clippers 114, San Antonio 105
Game 5 - Tue April 28
San Antonio 111, Los Angeles Clippers 107
Game 6 - Thu April 30
Los Angeles Clippers 102, San Antonio 96
Game 7 - Sat May 2
Los Angeles Clippers 111, San Antonio 109 - Los Angeles Clippers wins series 4-3
