Game 6 Round 1 2016

Robyn Dixon

Rowan Kavner  Digital Content Coordinator

PORTLAND, Ore. – Austin Rivers tried to hold it in. Much like the Clippers in Game 6, he succeeded until the last second.

Rivers had just scored 21 points, despite taking an elbow to the face that required 11 stitches in the first quarter. His teammate, Jamal Crawford, had just scored 32. But Crawford’s late shot attempt fell off the mark with a chance to tie, and Rivers’ half-court attempt to tie again fell short.

In the blink of an eye, the Clippers went from healthy first-round favorite, to completely depleted underdog, to somehow coming seconds away from forcing a Game 7, to seeing the season end in Portland. As Rivers sat at the postgame podium following a courageous performance, thinking back to the adversity he faced personally and the adversity the Clippers faced as a team, reminiscing on how Crawford rubbed off on him became the emotional breaking point.

“He’s the best teammate I’ve ever had, man,” Rivers said, getting choked up. “A lot of people doubted me when I came to L.A. a year ago. People thought I was just getting a chance because of my father. Jamal believed in me, man.”

By all basketball accounts, the relationship might not have worked.

Both guards like to work in isolation, taking defenders 1-on-1 to score. That can make the ball sticky, which isn’t particularly conducive to a ball movement, spread-the floor offense the Clippers’ backup unit would need to thrive.

As time passed, a Clippers bench that finished in the bottom third in the league in points per game and points allowed per game last season turned into a reserve unit that jumped to No. 7 in points and No. 12 in points allowed this year. 

When the Clippers nearly beat the full-strength Thunder in Oklahoma City toward the end of the season, with the majority of Clippers starters resting back in Los Angeles, it was Rivers and Crawford scoring 32 points apiece.

And, with the Clippers’ season on the line Friday night, it was the backcourt duo nearly providing the sufficient amount of magic to keep the season alive. Crawford scored 32 points again, and Rivers couldn’t even see out of his left eye following his gritty performance, which included eight assists and six rebounds as well.

“I was trying,” Rivers said. “We were all fighting together.”

After Crawford’s late missed shot, Rivers went up to the 16-year veteran and told him he’d live with that all day. And, after the final buzzer rang, Crawford walked over to Rivers and told the young point guard to keep his head high.

“He’s honestly become like a little brother – his locker’s even next to mine,” Crawford said. “With him, it’s got to be hard. Everything, all the stuff, especially how small the world is, I’m sure he hears the stuff like, ‘He’s only here because of his dad.’ No, he earned his way. He’s fought through it, he’s stood tall through everything. He never backed down or tried to use his dad as an advantage. He worked his butt off, and we have a great relationship.”

And, it’s a relationship that grows more with nights like Friday.

The Clippers’ superstars were already out. The “healthy” Clippers all fought through some sort of ache, pain, sprain, or bruise. No one would’ve blamed them for packing it in, trailing the majority of the night with their backs against the wall and everyone already counting them out.  

“We were this close to getting a Game 7,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what else to say. We left it all out there.”

Maybe Rivers and Crawford are no longer in Los Angeles next season. Maybe both are back in Los Angeles next season. On Friday night, nothing but the present mattered, along with everything leading up to Game 6.

The seven stitches below and the four stitches above Rivers’ eye, which looked more like a boulder than a seeing device when 48 minutes had passed, all added to the grittiness of the performance, which added to the emotions of the night.

Somehow, tears began to escape the swelling, as Rivers, looking more boxer than basketballer, couldn’t hold it in any longer. He cared tremendously, as did the many other Clippers fighting back tears in an emotional postgame locker room.

DeAndre Jordan, off to get X-Rays after hurting his ankle, never quit. J.J. Redick, battling a sore heel all series, never quit. Wesley Johnson, fighting plantar fasciitis in both feet, never quit. And Rivers, bleeding through the makeshift stitching above and below his eye, serving as the symbol of a Clippers team that fought blow after blow before coming up just short, never quit.

“I’ve been so proud of Austin,” Crawford said. “He probably takes more stuff outside our locker room than anybody else…I’m just proud of him. I’m really, really proud of him.” 

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Austin Rivers: Jamal’s The Best Teammate I’ve Ever Had

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Postgame Press Conference: Jamal Crawford – 4/29/16

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Postgame Press Conference: Doc Rivers – 4/29/16

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Postgame Press Conference: Austin Rivers – 4/29/16

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Postgame Press Conference: DeAndre Jordan – 4/29/16

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Clippers vs Trail Blazers Full Highlights - 4/29/16

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Butterfinger 'Bolder than Bold' Moment - 4/29/16

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Angelica Yaghoubi

PORTLAND, Ore. – Austin Rivers looked more like he just finished four rounds in boxing than four quarters of a basketball game. J.J. Redick hobbled for four quarters, fighting through a sore heel that’s bothered him all series. DeAndre Jordan, fighting for an offensive rebound in the final minutes, slowly limped back to the sideline before returning to the floor.

The amount of injuries the Clippers dealt with in just one series was almost unthinkable, already losing Chris Paul (hand) and Blake Griffin (quad) in Game 4 for the foreseeable future, and they could’ve booked it in when they trailed by five points in the third. They could’ve booked it in again when they trailed by six both early and late in the fourth.

Instead, the banged-up, severely depleted Clippers fought for every last second in an elimination Game 6, before eventually falling just short in the game, the series and the season in a 106-103 loss.

Rivers, who received 11 stitches after taking an inadvertent elbow from Al-Farouq Aminu in the first quarter, returned in the second quarter and ended up finishing with 21 points, his second-most in a postseason game after a 25-point performance against Houston last year.

The Clippers needed that scoring from him, as well as his eight assists and six rebounds, to keep it close. They needed a postseason career-high 32 points from Jamal Crawford to keep it close. They needed superior contributions from everyone who stepped on the court, which included 11 players by game’s end.

And, for nearly full four quarters, that’s what they got.

Portland’s seven 3-pointers in the third quarter could’ve been a backbreaker, yet the Clippers still outscored Portland by four points in the quarter to take a two-point lead to the fourth with plenty of help from Rivers, who persevered through the eye injury for 14 third-quarter points.

Early in the fourth, the Blazers took their largest lead of the game at six, and the Clippers stayed close. Then, trailing by six points again with only 1:32 remaining, Redick and Crawford helped tie the game back up.

But, the offensive glass was a problem early on for the Clippers, who allowed a season-high 15 offensive rebounds to the Blazers in the first half. And, after a C.J. McCollum miss with 14 seconds left, Mason Plumlee got in position for an offensive rebound and drew a foul on Jeff Green on a ball up for grabs.

Plumlee hit both at the line, and a shot from Crawford at the other end came up short. The Clippers fouled Plumlee again on the rebound, and he only made 1-of-2, giving the Clippers a chance for a half-court heave to tie.

The floater from way downtown by Rivers came up short, and that ended up being the last attempt this season for the Clippers, who dropped the series, 4-2.

Key Moment: When the final buzzer rang. The Clippers fought back from just about everything – the countless injuries, the barrage of Portland 3-pointers in the second half, the offensive rebounding struggles while playing small – and it wasn’t until the Clippers’ final attempt fell just short on a half-court heave that would’ve sent the game to overtime that the Clippers could finally be counted out.

Clippers Star: Austin Rivers – He was bleeding profusely, even after he returned from an elbow many may not have come back from, yet he ended up scoring 14 points in the third quarter and recording the second-highest points of his postseason career. The Clippers needed him to return, just as much for his defense as the only point guard remaining on the team with size, and Rivers came through.

Trail Blazers Star: Damian Lillard – With the Clippers’ superstars out, Portland’s stars took over. Lillard had 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while McCollum added 20 points.

X-Factor: Role players – For the Clippers, it was Crawford with 32 points – the most by any reserve in Clippers postseason history. For the Blazers, it was a handful of players hitting from long distance. Portland finished with 14 3-pointers, a bit of an outlier as neither team was particularly sharp from deep throughout the series, as Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe made a noticeable impact.

Doc Rivers – “It’s emotional, a lot of tears. From a coaching standpoint, you love that. I tell my guys every year, at least the teams I think have a chance, you have to be willing to get your heart broken to be a champion, and you have to do it over and over again. When that happens and you don’t win it, your heart’s broken. And we had a bunch of guys in the locker room today with their heart broken, but it was worth it. It was worth the journey.”

Austin Rivers – “A lot of people doubted us. A lot of people think we wouldn’t be able to fight. We showed a lot of heart. We went out there and believed in each other and we were a play away from going to overtime. It’s mixed emotions right now – I’m sad and disappointed, but at the same time, I’m very proud of my teammates.”

Jamal Crawford – “When you lose your two best players the same game, you get what you can and live with the results. We battled, we competed, we gave it everything we had. That’s a credit to Doc and a credit to the guys in the locker room.”

NOTES: Paul Pierce said afterward he’s “50-50” on whether he will return next season and said he doesn’t want it to be an emotional decision … Crawford said the Clippers feel like home and the players in the locker room feel like “brothers,” and he’d love to continue his career with the team … There were 19 lead changes and 10 ties in Game 6, with neither team ever leading by more than seven points … DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 20 rebounds in the loss, giving him back-to-back games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds for the first time in his playoff career …