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Crawford Takes Over Late In 102-98 Win Vs. Denver

Rowan Kavner

LOS ANGELES - Something about Jan. 26 sits well with Jamal Crawford.

Crawford was reminded how he scored 52 points on that day in 2007 as a member of the Knicks. Monday night marked the eight-year anniversary of that day and that game, and Crawford proceeded to go off for 21 of the Clippers’ (31-14) 33 points in the fourth quarter of a comeback 102-98 win against the Nuggets (18-27).

“We were down, and I just said, ‘We’re going to win the game. Don’t worry about it,’” Crawford said. “I always have belief.”

Crawford said it’s not often he’ll speak up like that, but he felt lost in the game with the crowd getting up late.

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year already had 10 points in the fourth before it officially became the Crawford takeover game. He’d go on to pour in another 11 points in the final 3:10 to help make up an eight-point deficit for the Clippers after three quarters.

Rivers said four weeks ago this was a game the Clippers lose “for sure.”

There were only three lead changes, but the back-and-forth game felt like much more. Neither team led by more than 10 points after the midway point of the second quarter.

The Nuggets led by as many as 16 in the first quarter, but the Clippers closed the half on a 22-6 run that included three DeAndre Jordan blocks in less than a minute to take a 50-47 lead into halftime.

Denver tied it back up within the first minute and a half of the third quarter. The Clippers then scored five straight before the Nuggets answered on an 11-0 run, leaving the Clippers to play from behind for the majority of the second half, including the entire fourth quarter until one of Crawford’s three fourth-quarter 3-pointers tied it at 92.

Rivers also talked about how Crawford kept saying the Clippers were going to win, even when things weren’t going well after the third quarter.

Crawford backed up the talk by making sure it would happen.

“For me, they always say it just takes one shot,” Crawford said. “You make one shot, you can go on a run and help change the game.”

Crawford said he doesn’t get into percentages, but it hadn’t been the strongest stretch for Crawford, who hadn’t scored 20 points or shot more than 40 percent in his previous five games entering Monday night.

“Then bam,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “You just felt like he was going to break out. He made one, and once he made that one, the floodgates opened for him. He needed it. We needed it.”

From 3-pointers to an acrobatic save that led to points to free throws and a steal, Crawford did everything he could on both sides of the floor to held edge out a Denver team that led the majority of the game.

The Clippers trailed by three points with fewer than four minutes remaining when Crawford hit the game-tying 3-pointer. He then came up with a steal and hit the bucket to put the Clippers ahead by two.

The Nuggets tied it back up at 94 on a bucket from Arron Afflalo before the Clippers made a stop and Chris Paul launched a pass a little out of the reach of Crawford running down court – or so it appeared. Crawford saved the pass from going out of bounds by whipping the ball behind his back to Matt Barnes for the finish.

“I saw Chris get the steal, and Matt and myself were both running,” Crawford recalled. “Matt kind of slowed up, but Chris already threw the ball. I didn’t want to leave him out to dry.”

That preceded Crawford drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt and hitting all three free throws to put the Clippers ahead by five points with 49 seconds remaining.

The Nuggets would go on to score the next four points, making it a one-point game with five seconds left. Crawford would hit one of two free throws, but got the rebound back and hit the next two free throws to give the Clippers a four-point lead and put the game out of a reach.

“We showed a lot of mental toughness,” Crawford said. “Over these last 10 to 12 games, we’ve showed different ways to win. Doc (Rivers always has us believing. We all believe in each other.”

NOTES: Rivers said Matt Barnes is dealing with an abdominal strain, but he said the Clippers won’t be in a rush to sign someone to help with depth… Blake Griffin finished one rebound short of a triple-double…DeAndre Jordan blocked three shots within a one-minute span during the Clippers’ end of first half run…This marked the fifth straight win for the Clippers, who now head off for an eight-game road trip…