Wasn’t it just last week that the Clippers pounded Portland by 20 and 21 points in the first two games?
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Heading into Monday night’s game with a 2-1 series lead, the Los Angeles Clippers had a lot on their minds already.
It seemed a matter of time, but sooner or later Aminu would bring his A game in the playoffs. Jamal Crawford, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, led the unit with 11 points, while Jeff Green added 10, Austin Rivers scored nine and Cole Aldrich had eight with eight rebounds in the team’s biggest bench-scoring advantage since at least 1993-94.
The semi-final series is scheduled to begin on either May 1 or May 3.
The game ended with Griffin massaging his left leg on the bench and Redick next to him with his face buried in his hands.
Of course, it’s still possible for Griffin to play Game 5.
“Some of the greatest shooters have gone through slumps”, Aminu said. I’m ready to get on a plane to go to Germany and recruit him to be back. He did exactly what he always (did). Sometimes that just happens. “We stuck with that and I came out and I knew that this game, if we would have lost this game, we would have been in some real trouble”.
Chris Paul has been a bright spot for Los Angeles, averaging 26.3 points, 8.3 assists and 5 rebounds. McCollum (19 points) and Al-Farouq Aminu (30 points, six threes) with slow switches and shot contests let the Blazers hold the lead for the entire game.
The next three quarters, while not as offensively challenged, would continue along the same general path, with both teams turning the ball over and neither having much luck stringing together consecutive quality possessions. Their second-best player Blake Griffin, averaging 15 points in the playoffs, aggravated a left quadriceps injury that he has been nursing all season. Portland kept things close for a while, but when the Clippers needed another notch, they found it at both ends.
But Aminu hit two 3-pointers for Portland’s first two points and you could feel the anxiety collectively lift from the crowd.
In a further blow to the Clippers, Blake Griffin is only rated “50-50” by Rivers to play game five after suffering a left quad injury.
Saturday saw Los Angeles fall in their first road game for their first loss of the playoffs.
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Blazers center Mason Plumlee’s ability to handle the ball, see the floor and deliver pinpoint passes has made the Clippers’ strategy of double-teaming the Portland guards disastrous. (AP) As the Trail Blazers celebrated, the Clippers’ locker room was somber.In Indianapolis, French center Ian Mahinmi scored 22 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out five assists to help the Indiana Pacers to a 100-83 series-tying win over Toronto. The third-year guard answered the call in Game Four with a playoff career-high of 12 points on a ideal 5-of-5 from the field, including two three pointers.
