Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Facing a 2-1 series deficit, the Los Angeles Clippers had to win Sunday's Game 4, or they'd be pushed to the brink. And they didn't allow the San Antonio Spurs to win a single quarter during the pivotal 114-105 road victory.
Chris Paul hung 34 points on San Antonio in a determined performance. Blake Griffin produced a huge double-double. And head coach Doc Rivers' son Austin turned in a tremendous 16-point effort off the bench.
The Clippers' Game 3 nightmare saw the Spurs pummel them 100-73 on the heels of an oh-so-close overtime loss in Game 2. That beatdown marked the Clippers' worst playoff loss in team history as well as the franchise's postseason low for points and field-goal percentage (34.1).
Sunday's win will do wonders for the Clippers' confidence, and with the series even at 2-2, they will play Game 5 in their own building on Tuesday. Here are the player grades from L.A.'s sorely needed victory.
| Chris Paul | A |
| Blake Griffin | A |
| Austin Rivers | A- |
| DeAndre Jordan | B+ |
| J.J. Redick | B+ |
| Rest of Team | B- |
| Tim Duncan | A |
| Kawhi Leonard | B+ |
| Patty Mills | B |
| Tony Parker | B- |
| Tiago Splitter | D |
| Rest of Team | C+ |
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul, Point Guard
In Game 3, Chris Paul managed just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting and flubbed six turnovers to just four assists. He entered Sunday's matinee eager to put on a bounce-back performance. He accomplished that and then some.
Paul piloted the Clippers offense and sparkled as a scorer, netting a game-high 34 points from 11-of-19 shooting. He also made all 10 of his free throws. Paul distributed seven assists to just two turnovers after his error-filled evening on Friday, and he left no doubt that the Clippers are still a force to be reckoned with in this postseason.
Paul also picked up his fifth foul with more than eight minutes left in the game, but he showed the discipline to avoid fouling out.
Grade: A
Blake Griffin, Power Forward
The Clippers recorded as many assists in the first half of Game 4 (14) as they had in all of Game 3, and Blake Griffin led that effort with five dimes by the break. Had he equaled that total in the second half, he would have recorded a gargantuan triple-double.
Griffin accounted for 20 points and 19 boards in addition to his seven assists. Blake made his presence felt in all facets of the game, scoring on mid-range jumpers and missions into the paint.
His 19 rebounds are made all the more incredible when considering the team as a whole only had 43 rebounds. Aside from the starting 4 and 5, the remaining Clippers players combined for only 10 rebounds.
Grade: A
DeAndre Jordan, Center
The Clippers missed 17 free throws in their 111-107 overtime defeat in Game 2. DeAndre Jordan personally clanged 11 of his 17 foul shots as Gregg Popovich went with the hack-a-Jordan strategy.
Jordan missed all four of his free-throw attempts on Sunday, but head coach Doc Rivers showed greater haste and opted to substitute Jordan during the usual hacking time frame.
While Jordan only scored six points, he snatched 14 rebounds and blocked a game-high four shots, showing the form that made him one of the top candidates for Defensive Player of the Year.
Grade: B+
J.J. Redick, Shooting Guard
J.J. Redick logged 37 minutes despite strong games from both reserve shooting guards, Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers. He made half of his dozen shot attempts to score 17 points, helped along by three three-pointers. Surprisingly, Paul was the only other Clipper who made a trey (canning two of them).
Redick also added a pair of steals to the equation, and he kept pace with the numerous players the Spurs deployed at the 2.
Grade: B+
Austin Rivers, Shooting Guard
Austin Rivers scored 11 points in Game 3, but most of them came during a fourth quarter when the Spurs were already out of reach. That was probably just an outlying game for the end-of-bench player.
Instead, on Sunday, he impressed his dad/head coach by knocking down his shots early and often, and he just kept on running. Rivers made seven of his eight shots to get 16 crucial points through just 17 minutes during the momentous win. He also added a steal and an assist.
Grade: A-
Rest of Team
If you told a Clippers fan before the game that Rivers would score more points off the bench than Crawford, he or she would probably assume the worst. Instead, they both played very well, which diversified the second unit's production. Crawford scored 15 on 6-of-13 shooting and chipped in three assists in his 29 minutes.
Glen Davis provided some crucial depth to the frontcourt off the bench. While hardly an athletic specimen, the big-bodied power forward helped with some stout defense in reserve action to wear down the Spurs up front. Davis totaled two points, two assists, a block and zero rebounds.
Matt Barnes started but did not bring his stat-sheet-stuffing ability to the contest. He picked up his fourth foul with more than seven minutes left in the third quarter. That bench time might have been for the best. Barnes scored four points and missed six of his eight shots, getting three of them blocked.
Grade: B-
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, Power Forward
Sunday marked Tim Duncan’s 238th playoff game, which moved him into third place all time ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Only Robert Horry and Derek Fisher have participated in more postseason games than Duncan.
And "Old Man Riverwalk" wasn't just getting his service time in, as he abused the Clippers with an impressive all-around effort. He scored 22 points on 13 shots, controlled 14 rebounds and added three blocks and a pair of steals with his merciless defense.
Duncan also helped with a game-high four offensive boards, helping the team to an 11-6 advantage in the category. However, Duncan also had some struggles at the line, missing four of his 10 attempts. Duncan fouled out in the final minute, but he turned in another sparkling effort despite the end result.
Grade: A
Kawhi Leonard, Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard exploded for a career-high 32 points in Game 3, and he added a team-high 26 points in Game 4. He handed out a team-high five dimes, drained three of the team's six three-pointers and had seven rebounds. However, when five assists are the Spurs' high total, something's not quite right.
The problem with Leonard is that San Antonio's asking him to do so darn much. He played a team-high 40 minutes, figured as the primary offensive option, taking 19 shots, and he was required to be the team's most energetic defender. It's a tall order, and he just didn't receive enough support from his teammates to earn that commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
Grade: B+
Tony Parker, Point Guard
Tony Parker joined Duncan and Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history to play in 200 playoff games with the same team. As karmic kudos for the milestone, Parker caught a Matt Barnes elbow to his left brow during the first half. Who knows? That may have affected his free-throw shooting, as Parker also missed four foul shots just like Duncan.
Parker had dealt with a sore Achilles, and he appeared to be playing without much bother from it, scoring 18 points on 15 shots. But the Achilles issue may have affected him in other ways, as he didn't exhibit much explosiveness or elusiveness. Parker only managed to record one assist in 28 minutes.
Grade: B-
Patty Mills, Point Guard
Patty Mills had a prominent performance in the Spurs' Game 2 win, accounting for 18 points on just nine shots in 19 minutes. He had another strong outing with 14 points in 20 minutes of action off the bench.
Having hung onto Mills during the offseason, he has proved immensely important to the Spurs, provided depth and security behind Parker and developed into a dynamic leader off the bench.
Grade: B
Tiago Splitter, Center
The official scorer marked Tiago Splitter as playing 18 minutes, but the league may need to review the video evidence to prove that he was out there. Splitter picked up four fouls in his limited playing time while missing all five of his shots, two of which got blocked.
Though he did have four rebounds, it was a no-show effort for Splitter against the Clips' potent frontcourt tandem. The Brazilian center has dealt with a calf injury recently, and it's possible that ailment is still slowing him down.
Grade: D
Rest of Team
Danny Green started but failed to make much of an impact, missing all six of his shots and failing to get on the scoreboard.
Both Boris Diaw and Manu Ginobili stepped off the bench and notched 10 points. Diaw added seven rebounds and three assists, and while Ginobili also had three dimes, he lost three turnovers in his 22 minutes—a huge number when compared against the five turnovers the rest of his team committed.
Grade: C+
Coming Up Next
Game 5 will tip off on Tuesday in Los Angeles at a time yet to be determined.
