LOS ANGELES - Patrick Beverly, Terrence Mann and Reggie Jackson stood on court and urged the sold-out crowd at Staples Center to cheer even louder for the first time in more than a year as history unfolded in dramatic fashion.
For the first time in their 51-year history, the LA Clippers are going to the Western Conference Finals. And they did it the way this star-crossed franchise could — the hard way.
After trailing 25 in the opening seconds of the third quarter, the Clippers made a furious and historic comeback, going on an impossible 75-40 run to finish the Utah Jazz 131-119 and advance to face the Phoenix Suns. Had been.
“It was my first time experiencing such crowds,” said Paul George, who grew up in Palmdale, a suburb outside Los Angeles, and joined Kawhi Leonard in 2019 to take the Clippers further than ever. Gone. "It was just a special night. You felt it, cheers, excitement. You felt the monkey off the Clippers' back in case you were out in the second round."
Just nine months after taking a 3-1 lead in the second round in embarrassing fashion to the Denver Nuggets last season, the Clippers completed an epic comeback that set off a tidal wave of emotion from a fan base that's mostly heartbroken. experienced pain and despair. .
Clippers are usually on the wrong end of an impossible return. But not after this season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he went past 22 and completed the biggest halftime comeback in NBA history in a series-winning win. They also became the first team to erase a 20-plus-point deficit in series-cleaning wins over the past 25 seasons.
"When we were eighth seed, I was celebrating reaching the playoffs," said Beverly, who has been with the Clippers since 2017. "To finish a game like this, to make history, it's special because [I've shed blood, sweat and tears in this one---. Injuries, friends being traded ... Last Man To be and to write history is special."
The most memorable comeback in Clippers history was ignited by Mann. Starting a second straight game for an injured Leonard, the second-year forward who averaged 7.0 points per game this season gave the game of his life. Mann scored 39 points and hit 7-of-10 3-pointers for the Clippers.
Mann, who scored a total of 48 in the 2019 draft, said, "I just had to lock in and do what I had to do." "They were leaving me open."
With Leonard looking inside the building, George completed an impressive series to go with a nearly triple-double of 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists with three steals. And Jackson continued his stellar postseason with more clutch shots, scoring 22 of his 27 and providing all 10 of his assists in the second half.
The Clippers needed everything they could to beat Donovan Mitchell. The hobbled Utah star wouldn't go out without a fight, scoring 39 points and hitting 9 of 15 triples on a bad ankle with nine assists and nine rebounds.
"It hasn't completely sunk in for me yet," Mitchell, who had a game-time decision, said of being out of the playoffs. "I'm still in shock. ... I don't know what I'm going to do next week. I'll probably just be sitting here, crazy as hell, watching sports and doing whatever... .It's going to eat me up for a long time watching the Clippers and Sons play in the conference finals."
The Clippers were previously 0-8 all-time and had a chance of securing a conference final appearance. They lost in those games at an average of 14.9 points.
But Friday's win not only ended the longest losing streak in NBA history to make it to a conference finals, it also helped to close some of the wounds of last year's playoff collapse in the bubble. of.
"One of the biggest things we try to do from day one is wash it," Jackson said of last year's fall. "Wash away the season that was behind us. It's easier said than done. Bring in a little bit of that animosity, a little bit of that sour taste from last year, but it was a whole new team."
After this season, the Clippers made their history. They trailed Utah 2–0, but won four straight after that and became the first team in NBA history to overcome multiple 2–0 series losses in a single post-season. They went 2–0 down in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks before winning that series in seven games.
With 17,105 fans packing Staples Center for a basketball game for the first time before the coronavirus pandemic since health restrictions were lifted in California, the Clippers got off to a hot start by Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson. With Jazz starting point guard Mike Conley Jr. playing in the series for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the first round, Mitchell shrugged off his injury quickly and scored 16 points on an array of dazzling drives into the basket in the first quarter . Go with three 3-pointers. And then Clarkson caught fire, scoring a straight 17 at one point in the second quarter to help Utah go 72-50 in the half.
Utah extended the lead to 75-50, but Mann did not allow the Clippers to turn. He scored 20 points in just under nine minutes, and the Clippers cut it to 90-88 before going down three to fourth.
Clippers coach Ty Lew's decision to pay less for a second consecutive series. Mann, who is 6-foot-5, took a heavy toll on Rudy Gobert, 7-1 Defensive Player of the Year. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Mann scored 30 of his 39 runs with Gobert as the primary defender, becoming the third player to score 30 against a single primary defender in a playoff game.
"You saw the whole game from a second year player," said George. "I mean, you saw him spread out on the floor. You saw him defensively. You saw him rebound. You saw him move toward the basket. You saw so many flashes of so many different things. He did it. The most important part of the game. I think that's what's most impressive.
"Honestly, that single-handedly sent us back through that stretch where he just - after 3 to defend against 3 downhill strikes. He did it all."
The Jazz couldn't stop the Clippers, who shot 30-for-42 (71.4%) in the second half, the highest percentage in the second half of playoff games in the last 25 postseasons.
Nicolas Bottom scored 3 runs to give the Clippers a 107-100 lead with 8:40 remaining, the Jazz took a timeout. During that timeout and every one that followed, Beverly, Mann, and Jackson provoked Clippers fans to speak out loud.
When Lew made his debut with 37.9 seconds remaining, the party was well underway, with Mann as the final starter to go to the bench to applause.
The Clippers are going to the conference finals, leaving the Pelicans and Hornets as the last two active franchises to have never made it to the conference finals.
Said Lew, who replaced Doc Rivers after a fall in last year's playoffs: "It was just nice to see our fans and how they stayed till the end and how they were cheering. ... team success. is starving for, and the fan base is doing the same thing."
The former Lakers point guard then said that the Clippers' rival fan base should join the celebration.
"I know the Lakers are out there and there are a lot of Lakers fans out here," Lew said. "But once the Lakers are gone, if we're not playing the Lakers, you should be happy for the Clippers because it's all in one city. I can just feel the love, and I'm so happy and proud of my people." . "