Clippers Lose Heartbreaker, Miss Conference Finals Thanks To Game 7

This year, the promotion for the NBA playoffs has used the tagline “Hero Ball.”  With their reputation on the line, the Los Angeles Clippers found themselves playing a lot of it in an attempt to save their season one more time in a Game 7 against the Houston Rockets.

In the end it was their downfall, as they fell 113-100.

With the shadow of a historic meltdown in front of them, the Clippers began making uncharacteristic plays and selfish ones in an attempt to take back control of their series they had a stranglehold on only a week prior.  J.J. Redick, who had been among the leaders in points throughout the series, had a team high six turnovers.

Two of them were on crucial plays where Redick seemingly gave the ball away by passing to a teammate that either wasn’t there or was turned around.  While the loss of the game can not be pinned on Redick as an individual, of all the players on the court the moment seemed to affect his performance the most.

DeAndre Jordan also had lapses in judgement, going for emphatic dunks that bounced off the rim rather than take the extra half-second for a guaranteed bucket.

“Our guys were trying to do it on their own.”-Doc Rivers on Game 7

Blake Griffin undoubtedly felt the pressure to help lift his team, crashing to the court and losing possession in the course of having five turnovers of his own.  Griffin had 27 points and 11 rebounds lead the team, including several important shots from the field.  Chris Paul followed closely behind him with 26 points and 10 assists.

Paul did not have an assist to begin the game, an unusual sight that showed how little the Clippers were working together against the determined Rockets.

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Despite their offensive failings, the Clippers were able to cut the Rockets deficit to within three in the third quarter before spiraling out of control and finding themselves 20 points down.

With the game seemingly all but decided, Paul and Griffin led the Clippers’ final charge for an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter that temporarily silenced the electric Toyota Center.

With two and a half minutes in the game, Jordan made a dunk to bring the deficit to within eight only to be answered by a clutch three by Trevor Ariza that finally wrested the game out of the Clippers reach.

DeAndre Jordan finished the game with 16 points and 17 assists. Jamal Crawford provided 17 points.  J.J. Redick finished with 10.

James Harden, who once again was not feeling well, led both teams with 31 points and set the stage for a matchup with newly minted MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors.  Trevor Ariza provided 22 points and Josh Smith had 15 points, both gaining praise for making the most of their opportunity as they were mid-season acquisitions to the team.  Dwight Howard finished the game with a double-double 16 points and 15 rebounds.

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The Rockets will now move on to face the NBA leading Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference final.  The Rockets become just the ninth team to ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs and win the series.  It is the first team that the team has gone on to the conference final since 1997.

The Los Angeles Clippers now end their season looking for answers.  Doc Rivers spoke after the game, stating:

"“I love my team.  I love the fact that they wanted to win so bad that, in my opinion, we almost couldn’t win. We have to fix that part. It requires great trust in each other. Our guys were trying to do it on their own.”"

Blake Griffin spoke on the disappointment of the game and the series, stating:

"“It’s disappointing.  We were close, but close doesn’t really count. Almost doesn’t count. We were up 3-1 and didn’t put them away. We can’t look at anybody but ourselves.”"

The Clippers have now still not made it to the conference final in their entire franchise history.  The talk of whether the team has what it takes to go all the way will likely occupy analysis this coming week.

With Doc Rivers also acting as president of basketball operations for the team, several questions remain.

The first is the impending free-agency of DeAndre Jordan who after a successful season is set to have an interesting summer as he is expected to field offers from across the NBA.

The depth of the bench, which has been criticized often this season, will also be evaluated and it is expected that there will be plenty of new faces on the squad this coming season.

Stay tuned to LA Sports Hub for all your Clippers coverage this summer.