Warriors vs. Clippers Was A Playoff Series For The Ages

Game 7 — LAC 126 – GSW 121 (LAC wins series 4-3)

May 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) moves the ball defended by Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the fourth quarter in game seven of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 126-121. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

If a series is going to go to a Game 7, this is how it is supposed to be played.

Players like to spew a version of, “Both teams played hard” to the media, but in this case, that statement was true. Both teams did play hard, and whoever came out victorious deserved it.

The game stuck to the series’ storyline, with the Clippers dominating down low and the Warriors bombing away from outside. The game started out well — almost too well to believe — for the Warriors, who jumped out to a double-digit lead after one. Curry, who played his heart out with 33 points, had an absolutely unreal four-point play near the end of the half, and the Warriors led by eight at halftime.

But back came the Clippers, who had home court advantage. They grabbed the lead and all the momentum, making the rest of the game excruciating for Warriors’ fans to watch. It was still within the Warriors’ reach, however. Iguodala banked in a three with 4:27 to play to put them in front by one. But then, in a play that symbolizes how the Clippers were able to exploit the Warriors, Los Angeles came right back with an alley-oop jam by Jordan, who the Warriors had no answer for down low.

The game still hung in the balance, though. Curry put the Warriors back in front 109-108 at the 2:21 mark, but then the Jordan-Griffin two-headed monster eventually killed the Warriors. First, Griffin out-muscled Green by backing him down all the way to rim for an easy lay-up. Then, on the ensuing possession, Jordan blocked Curry from behind, leading to fast break that resulted in a Griffin alley-oop jam. With the Warriors down 112-109 at the 1:15 mark and the shot clock winding down, Paul missed a floater, but the Warriors couldn’t handle Jordan on the glass, and DeAndre put it back down with authority. And to add insult to injury, it was Griffin who ended the Warriors’ hopes of advancing, making an extremely-difficut and-one layup to put the Clippers up five with under a minute to play.