In their first full game without star Blake Griffin, the Clippers came out looking strong but lacking control. Overpowered by Utah’s efforts, LA fell, allowing the Jazz to tie the series 2-2.
What a whirlwind.
Many of us are still unable to grasp the fact that Blake Griffin won’t be with us for the rest of the playoffs. Many of us are far from hopeful. The only thing that seemed to change the attitude was the thought that last night, the LA Clippers could have taken a 3-1 lead over the Utah Jazz.
That didn’t happen, though.
Even though LA led for a majority of the game, I never really felt like they had control. The game was bound to slip into Utah’s hands eventually. It was just a matter of when.
The Clippers were down at the half by just 3 points, a deficit they’d overcome halfway into the third quarter. They kept their lead from that point until the final 4 minutes, when the Jazz took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Utah ended the game on a 25-11 run, led by Clippers headhunter Joe Johnson. He would score 13 of his 28 points in the final 7 minutes of the contest.
So what all went wrong exactly?