2006-05-01
Clippers Find Reason to Believe
One more victory.
It might seem difficult for some to believe, but that's all the Clippers need to win their first postseason series in California, and second in franchise history.
Really.
They lead the Denver Nuggets, 3-1, in a best-of-seven first-round playoff series, and could finish things tonight in Game 5 at Staples Center.
In Clipper history, everything that could go wrong often has, so they don't take success for granted.
The struggling Nuggets are on the ropes, the Clippers said, and it's time to deliver a knockout punch.
"When you're competing against somebody, that other person doesn't want to lose either, so you've got to do it to them before they do it to you," swingman Cuttino Mobley said. "It's nothing personal, we're not trying to disrespect them, but when you have the chance, you've got to step on people's necks."
Since moving to California before the 1978-79 season, the Clippers have made four postseason appearances.
The Utah Jazz swept the Clippers in the 1997 playoffs, and the Clippers lost in the fifth game of best-of-five series to Utah in 1992 and the Houston Rockets in 1993.
The franchise, making its seventh postseason appearance in 36 seasons, has not won a series since the Buffalo Braves defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1976 Eastern Conference playoffs, but the Clippers appear determined to change that.
They took charge Saturday in Game 4, routing Denver, 100-86, at Pepsi Center.
Coach Mike Dunleavy had all the angles covered, players said, and they did their part, executing well in many areas and rebounding from a 94-87 loss in Game 3.
On Saturday, the Clippers took an 11-point halftime lead, and went ahead by as many as 23 points in the second half.
The Clippers showed significant improvement in boxing out, among their problems in the series, limiting the Nuggets to eight offensive rebounds. In the first three games, Denver had 19, 16 and 13 offensive rebounds, respectively.
That's progress, players said.
"It keeps dropping … so we're proud of that," power forward and co-captain Elton Brand said. "We were ready in all spots."
Especially on defense.
Dunleavy's schemes, and Quinton Ross' effort, have helped to contain star forward Carmelo Anthony, who is shooting only 33.3% in the series.
With their No. 1 option ineffective, the Nuggets have often stalled on offense, and they've also missed 45 of 56 three-pointers.
"When they didn't get offensive rebounds, when we didn't let that happen, they couldn't score," sixth man Corey Maggette said. "We've just got to continue to keep them off the boards.
"They tried to turn it into a physical game, doing a lot of crazy stuff, but we're not going to give in to that. We know we can beat them, as long as we do what we're supposed to do, so we've just got to go out there and play."
Maggette performed at a high level in the Mile High City, leading the second unit's strong effort.
In Game 3, Maggette scored a team-high 23 points off the bench, and he had 19 to lead seven players in double figures in Game 4.
Backup point guard Shaun Livingston contributed 16 points, six assists and six rebounds in a performance among the best of his two-year career, and center Chris Kaman, slowed because of a viral illness, had 12 points with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Teammates praised Livingston, who was aggressive on offense from the moment he came in to the game late in the first quarter.
"Shaun Livingston was awesome!" Brand said. "Sixteen, six and six, that's not second-[unit] stats in the playoffs. He was amazing."
And now, the Clippers are on the verge of taking their biggest step since, well, since they've been the Clippers.
"We have a chance to close this out, the first series since '76, so it's going to be huge," Livingston said of tonight's game. "We don't want to go back to Denver."
LA Times
