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Notebook: Deep Shooting, Rivers Fine, 50-50 Chances, More

Rowan Kavner

SAN ANTONIO – Only one specific aspect of the Clippers’ shooting from 3-point range Tuesday night could’ve been stranger than seeing them go 1-for-14 from deep.

J.J. Redick went 6-for-10 from the field without taking a single 3-pointer. It was the first time in Redick’s nine-year career that he played more than 25 minutes in a game without attempting a shot from behind the arc.

“I didn’t mind,” said head coach Doc Rivers on Wednesday. “If they’re going to take something away, the fact he can score in another way is fine by me.”

But the lack of made 3-pointers is becoming a trend against a Spurs team with elite perimeter defenders. That was something Rivers mentioned immediately after Tuesday’s loss.

“If you want to look at the difference in the game, it’s the 3-point line,” Rivers said after the game. “It’s been the 3-point line in this series, when you really want to get down to it. Obviously, we need to make some, and we’ve got to do a better job of getting guys open.”

Including this year’s playoffs, the Clippers, who finished the regular season with the third-most 3-pointers in the league, have made five or fewer 3-pointers in a game just seven times this season. Three of those games have come against the Spurs, including both Game 4 and Game 5 of this series.

After starting hot from behind the arc in Game 1, going 10-for-18 from 3-point range, the Clippers’ 3-point total has gone down in each subsequent game.

The Clippers hit five 3-pointers in Game 4 and just one in Game 5. Their 7.1 percent shooting behind the arc Tuesday was their lowest 3-point percentage in a playoff game in franchise history in which they attempted more than five shots from downtown.

They haven’t yet surpassed their regular season average of 10.1 made 3-pointers per game in any of the first five games of the postseason. The Clippers are averaging 6.2 made 3-pointers per game in the playoffs, while the Spurs’ postseason average from behind the arc is slightly up from 8.3 per game to nine per game.

“They are running you off, or at least they’re trying to,” Rivers said. “They’re staying home with J.J. more. But there were also times you watch on film he was open, and he didn’t see the ball. Those are things we can do better.”

Docked Pay

The league announced that Rivers has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating following the Clippers’ Game 5 loss.

Rivers wasn’t pleased afterward with some of the calls he described as “brutal,” listing a Blake Griffin travel call, a Matt Barnes goaltend and a sixth foul on J.J. Redick as crucial possessions the Clippers couldn’t get back.

While he didn’t say anything too malicious regarding the officiating, he figured a fine was coming. When asked about the fine, Rivers said “it was a good call.”

“I just felt like it needed to be said,” Rivers said. “So I’ll take it.”

50-50

In a game between two evenly matched teams, every loose ball matters.

Rivers wasn’t pleased with the 50-50 balls going the other way. He said after the game that the Spurs seemed to secure every loose ball, and that should be an area where the athletic Clippers hold an advantage.

“We’re the team with the speed,” Rivers said. “A loose ball is a fumble, and the team with speed should get it, and I thought they got all of them.”

The most critical of those was arguably the defensive rebound by Kawhi Leonard following Danny Green’s missed free throw with four seconds remaining. After watching the tape back, Rivers repeated what he thought immediately after the game.

“I just thought the game came down to the 50-50 game,” Rivers said. “We can look at all these other things that everyone looks at, this unit, this group, this player…They made all the necessary plays to me to win the game. Every loose ball, they got. They got turnovers down the stretch. You have to give them credit, it was their defense.”

Getting Back Up

It’s win or go home, and that’s not something Rivers has to tell his team as they prepare for Game 6.

He said both teams have been resilient within the series, bouncing back after tough losses, and that’s a trait the Clippers have had all year.

“I keep saying it, this year over last year, I think our guys have been absolutely wonderful in doing this,” Rivers said. “So we’ll be ready.”

As dejected as some of his players were after the Game 5 loss, Rivers said 48 hours should provide enough time to recover. He knows his group isn’t bothered by playing on the road, setting a franchise-record with 26 road victories during the regular season.

 “We’ll be ready. Whether it needs to be said or I need to put on ‘The Sandlot’ or something, we’ll see,” Rivers joked. “But we’ll be ready for the game. I think our guys have been very resilient all year, and I would be very surprised if we weren’t ready to play a great Game 6.”