It’s a little early to call these NBA playoffs the greatest ever. Not with San Antonio already leading Portland 3-0 in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. Not with two-time defending champion Miami having won six of their first seven games, though a Brooklyn victory tonight against the visiting Heat would knot their best-of-seven at 2-2 and again make the Nets’ regular-season sweep (4-0) of LeBron James’ Gang worth talking about.
But the Los Angeles Clippers’ 22-point rally against Oklahoma City on Sunday to tie the Thunder at 2-2 was the kind of victory that should have the attention of every NBA fan nationwide.
The Comeback Clippers — Sunday was their 14th win of the season after trailing by double-figures — didn’t win this one on the 3-ball as they did the first game of the series, when they bagged 15 triples, including eight from point guard Chris Paul. Stunning as that triumph was on enemy wood, this is the one that should make OKC fans nervous.
LA looked the quicker team down the stretch, and the more aggressive team inside, thanks to Blake Griffin. They also had four players score 18 or more points while the Thunder had but two — Kevin Durant with 40 and Russell Westbrook with 27.
This same issue — the Thunder’s lack of a reliable third banana in the scoring column — has been mentioned before in the two seasons since OKC allowed James Harden to wind up with the Houston Rockets. Though it’s all but impossible to stop KD and Westbrook, it’s pretty hard for a two-man team to go all the way.