Sob City: Clippers Swept By Spurs

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Spurs Vs. Clippers: Gregg Popovich, Reggie Evans Share Laugh Over 'Hack-A-Reggie'

On Sunday, Gregg Popovich utilized the Hack-A-Blank strategy to perfection on Clippers forward Reggie Evans. With a little over three minutes left, the Spurs entered the penalty, and Popovich called for the Spurs to foul Evans -- who is an amazing defender and rebounder bu shoots 52 percent for his career from the charity stripe. Evans was shook, missing both; the Spurs tied the game on their next possession, and Evans sat the rest of the game as the Spurs went on to complete the sweep.

In his press conference, Popovich spoke on the brief postgame interaction with Evans that TNT's cameras caught.

I said 'I'm sorry I had to do that to you.' I hate it. It's ugly. But it's something that's available. Just like anything else in the game that's legal. I had to have a laugh with him. He was fine. You know, actually what he said is that'll give me something to work on. But really. He said that will give me something to work on in the offseason. It was great.

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It's Hack-A-Reggie Time

With the Spurs over the limit, they're now likely going to foul Reggie Evans or DeAndre Jordan every time down the court off the ball if they remain in the game. They can do this until until the two minute mark, when this will begin resulting in two shots and the ball.

Immediately after entering the bonus, the Spurs fouled Evans, who bricked both free throws, then proceeded to get Danny Green an open three in the corner to tie the game at 92.

Can't blame the Spurs - it gives the Clippers a tough decision whether to keep their best defender and rebounder in the game or take their chances on Evans' free throw shooting. He's a 52 percent shooter on his career - not really bad, considering that ends up in a point per possession - but he's looked awful. He shot 3-for-10 last game and didn't look comfortable at all on that trip to the line.

He's now back out of the game.

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Eric Bledsoe Lighting It Up In Fourth

Clippers-watchers have gotten used to Eric Bledsoe's signature really, really fast, really really out of control drives to the hoop, but he's absolutely killing it right now. He started off with two nice drives in the first minutes of the quarter, but has scored seven straight now: he drilled a corner three - shooting never his expertise, 20 percent from deep on the year - that Blake Griffin literally slapped his way after a loose ball, then nailed a falling floater, then finished a fast break. The Clips are up five with five to go. This, plus a tip jam to finish the third, means he has 13 points in the last eight minutes of court time.

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Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Keeping Clips Alive

The Clippers are up one on San Antonio through three, and they have the performance of their two superstars to thank. 28 points in the third for the team, 12 by Griffin - including two monster dunks and some nice finishes over Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw - and nine points and five assists for Paul.

Those other seven points: two were assisted by Paul, two came on a tip-in by Eric Bledsoe off a barely missed Paul free throw, and one came on a clear-path foul on Randy Foye in the backcourt. So, yeah, that's 24 of 28 points caused by Paul or Griffin, or both.

They'll need more to stave off elimination for a few more nights.

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The Spurs' Offense Is Disturbingly Great.

Kelly Dwyer from Ball Don't Lie had a tweet I really like over halftime:

I actually am very much enjoying the fact that mainstream TV types aren't calling the Spurs some defensive monster and recognizing the O.

— Kelly Dwyer (@KDonhoops) May 21, 2012

But it's true: the auto-storyline surrounding San Antonio is that, hey they're boring, and defense is boring, and therefore, they win with overwhelming defense.

But their offense is just so absurd to watch. They just had a stretch of a few possessions that went like this

Open Danny Green 17-footer (missed)

Open Danny Green three (nailed it)

Uncontested Tiago Splitter Layup (duh)

Tim Duncan standing by himself for four seconds, staring at the defense in anger for not guarding him, before throwing up an open 19-footer (obviously drilled it)

Tim Duncan draws foul (and hits a runner)

That's impeccable. The Clippers are holding tight due to Blake Griffin with some unreal dunks - he has two nuts ones this quarter, including one over Tim Duncan - and him finishing, and occasionally not finishing, in back-to-the-basket situations. Meanwhile, find the possession that doesn't end in an open shot, or smart look, for San Antonio. It's unreal.

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Blake Griffin Playing Second Half

The Clippers forward had one of his top teeth go through his upper lip and needed four stitches, and now has a gross thing on his face, but he’ll be able to go. Apparently, he’s lucky to have been wearing a mouth guard.
He’s matched up against Tiago Splitter rather than Boris Diaw after Splitter had a pretty great first half.
The game is tied at 55 in the early minutes of the second.

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Blake Griffin Bleeds, Is Not A Dunking Automaton

In case you were wondering, when Blake Griffin is cut, he still bleeds like everyone else:

Picture via @jose3030

That was courtesy of a collision with Manu Ginobili in the second quarter. According to Vinny Del Negro, Griffin's tooth went through his lip in the process.

Joey Crawford, the veteran ref whose seen it all, responded with an "ok", telling the Clippers coach his star would need to be taken out of the game if the bleeding didn't stop.

Griffin eventually went into the locker room for stitches, but he's expected to be ready to go for the second half. While he has a huge edge in athleticism over any of the Spurs big men, Griffin has once again been held in check offensively, scoring only 7 points on 3-8 shooting in the first half.

With the San Antonio bench firing on all cylinders, LA will need a lot more from a bandaged up Griffin in the second half.

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Spurs-Clippers Halftime Update: Clippers Keeping It Close With Elimination On Line

The Clippers are only down four, even up against a strong performance Spurs team that is resolute as usual in this potential series closer.

The Spurs had an early 12-point run and the game looked like it would be another laugher as the Spurs opened up a double-digit lead with all of their out-of-the-middle-of-nowhere bench players - Tiago Splitter, Danny Green, Gary Neal, et. al. - putting in meaningful contributions. However, the Clips' best players are coming through - seven and five for Chris Paul - and managed to make the game doable by the half.

What stands out to me is just how the Spurs manage to always live up to their Spursian stereotype: they just take everything so unbelievably seriously. Up ten in the first quarter of a series which they lead 3-0, Gregg Popovich ordered his players to foul DeAndre Jordan off the ball to make him shoot free throws - the Hack-a-Shaq reimagined, an old Pop trick. It didn't exactly work - Jordan went 2-for-4, which is a pretty average per-possession result - but the point is, this team plays every minute like it's of utmost importance. Although it's only four points, it'll take a gargantuan effort for the Clippers to extend this series another game.

For more on the Spurs, be sure to visit Pounding the Rock. The best Clippers coverage on the web can be found at Clips Nation. And, if you're looking for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

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Everyone Is Getting In On The Fun For San Antonio

The San Antonio Spurs have been comfortably ahead of the LA Clippers for almost all of Game 4, due in large part to a balanced effort with contributions from every member of their rotation:

Danny Green: 7 points and 3 assists on 3-5 shooting.

Kawhi Leonard: 3 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assists on 1-3 shooting.

Tiago Splitter: 6 points and 5 rebounds on 3-4 shooting.

Gary Neal: 6 points and 2 assists on 3-3 shooting.

Matt Bonner: 5 points and 2 rebounds on 2-4 shooting.

Stephen Jackson: 2 points and 4 assists on 1-1 shooting.

Boris Diaw is the only Spur to see the floor who hasn't scored yet. There's no way the Clippers can stop everyone in San Antonio's rotation, but they've at least got to stop someone if they want to avoid the sweep.

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Tiago Splitter Is Not Timofey Mozgov, Kendrick Perkins

Blake Griffin almost got his third scalp of his young career on his trademark throw the ball through the rim move:

via cjzero.com

The ball didn't bounce his way today though, much to the relief of Spurs big man Tiago Splitter, who was spared his place in infamy on the highlight reels.

This is where Griffin might need to learn some finesse. You can't dunk on everyone all the time. It's just not possible.

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Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard Shine Early In Game 4

If you want to know why the San Antonio Spurs have been one of the NBA's elite teams for well over a decade, there isn't a better example than their starting lineup in Game 4, which features two young players (Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green) passed over by most of the NBA.

Green, a second round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009, played for five different NBDL teams in his first two years as a pro. In the first quarter, he has 5 points and 3 assists on 1-2 shooting while also playing excellent defense on Chris Paul.

Leonard, whom the Spurs acquired in a draft-day trade with the Indiana Pacers, was originally projected as a lottery pick after two excellent seasons at San Diego State before concerns about his perimeter jumper and his offensive position sent him tumbling on draft night. In the first quarter, he has 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist while playing tight defense on Caron Butler.

Just imagine how good the LA Lakers or the Miami Heat would look with this type of depth next to their stars instead of the middling collection of veterans both teams currently run out there.

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Chris Paul May Not Be At 100%

Los Angeles Clippers fans probably didn't want to see tweets like this from ESPN's J.A. Adande in the hours before their must-win Game 4 game against the San Antonio Spurs:

Chris Paul just arrived at Staples Center, walking like a peg-legged pirate. Not a good sign for Clippers.

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) May 20, 2012

Paul hasn't seemed like 100% throughout the series, especially after the physical beating he took in LA's seven-game win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Tony Parker has largely outplayed Paul throughout, a matchup the Clippers had to win to have any chance of pulling off the upset over the rolling Spurs, who have barely been challenged as they've steamrolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

LA will certainly need more than 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting from Paul to avoid the sweep.

For more coverage of both teams, stay tuned to Clips Nation and Pounding The Rock.