FRIDAY FIVE: TOP CLUTCH SHOTS

The Clippers have been defeated by clutch shots in the past two games (Randy Foye on Monday and Ray Allen on Wednesday). But that does not mean they haven’t had their fair share of clutch shots themselves. Below are the top five shots in the clutch of the season, through 52 games. Shockingly, none of them were from Chris Paul, who is among the league leaders over the past three seasons in shots made in the final two minutes with the game within five points or less.

See who made the Clippers’ top clutch shots so far this season:

5. Nov. 29, 2013 at Kings. Jamal Crawford had an historic game off the bench in Sacramento and the Clippers needed all of his 31 points and 11 assists. His best play, though, may have been in the final minute of overtime when the he put the Clippers up by four with a brilliant ball fake that got his defender off balance before he drilled a flat-footed fade away.

4. Nov. 23, 2013 vs. Kings. The Kings were victimized in the clutch, again, by the Clippers. Isaiah Thomas had just tied the game at 100 and Sacramento was focused on Paul, especially with defensive ace Luc Mbah a Moute out of the game with six fouls. Paul gets the ball from the sideline out of bounds and finds Blake Griffin in the lane for a high-flying dunk with 44 seconds remaining to give the Clippers a 102-100 lead.

3. Feb. 3, 2014 at Nuggets. Matt Barnes’ biggest shot as a Clipper likely would have been No. 1 had Foye’s miraculous shot not fallen on the other end. But even in a loss, Barnes drilling a 3-pointer from the right wing with 6.2 seconds left to put the Clippers up by two belongs on the list. 

2. Jan. 15, 2014 vs. Mavericks. The Clippers came back from 17 points down in the final six minutes against the Mavericks in the final home game before the Grammy road trip. The comeback would not have been complete without J.J. Redick. Crawford found the open 3-point ace from straightaway and Redick drilled the shot with 34 seconds left to make it a one-point game. “That’s some shot under pressure,” Ralph Lawler said after the shot went in. He’s not kidding.

1. Dec. 22, 2013 vs. Timberwolves. Another comeback, another clutch shot from 3-point range. After the Clippers overcame a two-possession deficit in regulation in the final 29 seconds, they needed Jared Dudley’s unexpected 3-pointer to help seal the victory. Dudley, who was 0-for-6 in the game from distance before that, emerged on the right wing after Paul drove baseline. Paul threw a great pass from the lane to get it out to him and Dudley did the rest, giving the Clippers a 115-114 lead with 38.6 seconds left in overtime.