As arguably the most anticipated matchup in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies went head-to-head on Sunday and didn’t disappoint. Even though the league was buzzing about Derrick Rose’s season-ending injury and the Los Angeles Lakers destroying the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers stole the show on Sunday with an impressive come-from-behind win over the Grizzlies, 99-98.
After digging a huge hole by letting the Grizzlies get out to a 27-point lead, the Clippers got their spark from the new face of the franchise in All-Star point guard Chris Paul. With the Clippers being down 21 in the fourth quarter, Paul demanded to get back in the game by pleading with head coach Vinny Del Negro to have faith that the perennial All-Star could lead this team from behind.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, Del Negro gave Paul the nod and the game completely turned around in favor of the up-and-coming Clippers. Paul motivated his guys and started to chip away at the lead created by an inspired Grizzlies squad.
Even though Paul had just 14 points in Game 1, the elite point guard distributed the basketball well with 11 assists. As a result of Paul’s inspired performance, the Clippers were able to erase the 21-point lead and make NBA playoff history. Erasing the 21-point deficit is tied for the biggest turnaround in league history during the postseason.
There’s no question that the Clippers definitely a disappointment in the first half of this game and during most of the third quarter, but they showed their resolve in the fourth and that might be good enough over the course of the first round to advance.
Game 2 of this first-round series will get underway on Wednesday, May 2 in Los Angeles with the Clippers up 1-0.
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