Clippers’ History Offers Hope for Game 7

The Los Angeles Clippers were up by 19 points in the third quarter. They were up by 12 points with eight minutes to go. But down the stretch they missed 11 straight shots, were outscored, 25-2, and somehow managed to lose to the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of their series on Thursday night. It is hard to call it anything but a choke.
Now the Clippers travel to Houston for a Game 7. No chance, right?
But history, often so unkind to the franchise, offers a glimmer of hope. In the Blake Griffin-Chris Paul era, the Clippers have played in three Game 7s. They won them all.
In 2012, Griffin’s second year in the league and Paul’s first with the team, the Clippers made the playoffs for just the second time in 15 years. They raced to a three-games-to-one lead against the fourth-seeded Grizzlies.
After losing in Memphis, the Clippers looked to close out the series at home in Game 6, and led by 8 with eight and half minutes left in the fourth quarter. Sound familiar? A few missed shots while Paul was on the bench and then two quick turnovers when he returned and the Clippers had blown it.
But the story was different in Game 7 on the road. Though Paul and Griffin played with injuries, the Clippers protected their fourth-quarter lead this time and clawed out a low-scoring, hard-fought victory, 82-72. The Clippers shot just 39 percent, but held Memphis to 32 percent shooting.
Two years later, facing the sixth-seeded Warriors in the first round, the Clippers, amid the controversy over their owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks, took 2-1 and 3-2 series leads. But a 1-point loss in Game 6 sent them to a decider again.
This time, the game was at home. Trailing for much of it, the Clippers hit the big shots in the fourth quarter and won, 126-121. Griffin had 24 points and Paul 22, and DeAndre Jordan had 18 rebounds.
This year, the Clippers faced the Spurs in the marquee matchup of the first round. Home-court edge seemed to mean little. The teams split Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles and Games 3 and 4 in San Antonio. The visiting team won Games 5 and 6, as well, putting the series into a decider in Los Angeles.
It was a great one, with 31 lead changes. The game came down to a shot by Chris Paul. He drove the lane, banked it in, and the Clippers won, 111-109.
Griffin is the playoffs’ leading scorer, Jordan leads in shooting percentage and Paul leads in assists. It is tempting to write off a team after it suffers a devastating loss, as the Clippers did on Thursday night. But Griffin, Jordan and Paul have shown the ability to come up big when it counts most, even on the road.
It would be far from a surprise if they win another Game 7 on Sunday.