Ballin': Do the Clippers Have Any Shot Against the Spurs?
By Jason McIntyre
Miami 95, Indiana 86: Chris Bosh went down in the first half with a strained abdominal, but Wade (29 points, 13-of-14 FTs) and LeBron (32 points, 15 rebounds) carried the Heat to victory with a dominant 2nd half. LeBron put on an MVP-caliber performance in the 2nd half – 26 points in the 2nd half (when the Heat outscored the Pacers 53-38) – and hounded Danny Granger at the other end (1-of-10 FGs).
Roy Hibbert and David West were effective inside with Bosh out, combining for 34 points and 23 rebounds. Too bad neither of them could score in the final 4:50 – Miami only led by one, but then Indiana didn’t make another basket the rest of the way. Even if Bosh misses the rest of the series (he’s having an MRI today), the Heat still have this one sewn up. Getting by Boston next round? Not so sure.
LA Clippers 82, Memphis 72: OJ Mayo was 1-of-11. Mike Conley was 2-of-13. Zach Randolph was 3-of-12. The Grizzlies were outscored 27-16 in the fourth quarter. They were playing at home. They missed all 13 three-point attempts. This has to be one of the biggest pants-crapping efforts by a home team in game seven in quite some time, right? Memphis was an 8-point favorite! This could be a rough week for Lionel Hollins.
Oh, and this is probably worth mentioning – 25 of the 27 Clippers’ points in the 4th quarter were scored by … guys off the LA bench. Kenyon Martin (11 points, 10 rebounds), Nick Young (13 points), Eric Bledsoe (8 points) and Mo Williams (9 points). The Memphis bench shot a combined 4-of-18 for 11 points. So do the Clippers have a chance against the Spurs? Probably not if Blake Griffin (only 3-of-11 in 28 minutes) doesn’t get healthy real quick. Offensively, the Spurs might just be too much. They were 2nd in the league in scoring, tops in field goal percentage, and No. 1 in 3-point shooting, too. The Clippers are worn down, and game one Tuesday will be their 6th game in 11 days. When game one tips, the Spurs will not have played in eight days. Vinny Del Negro needs to soak up this series victory because he might get embarrassed by Pop.