Los Angeles came out hard, taking an early lead and frustrating the Spurs. Popovich resorted to Hack-A-DeAndre right away, fearing his opposition. There was more early reffing B.S., too, letting San Antonio tie at right before the first ended.

The fouling got intentional fast in the second. Even though DeAndre drained many attempts, a lot of missed rebounds put us down ten at one point. However, Doc Rivers didn’t panic, and thanks in large to J.J. Reddick and Matt Barnes, we tied it back up by halftime.

Chris Paul tried to talk to their evil coach about his hacking ways, only to see him mouth “the fuck up.” Either that sentence began with shut, or his muskrat beard betrayed his innocence. I’m guessing it wasn’t anything good. It did allow our center to take out his frustrations on defense, however, using some swats to help us get back in it.

It was a big second half for Blake Griffin. He came out aggressive in the third, and Paul also found his rhythm with his first successful field goal. They helped build a decent lead, but the Spurs tied it towards the end of the quarter. We used a small run to take a four point lead after three.

This game is dedicated to Glen Davis. I think we lost “Big Baby” for the season in the 4th. He blocked McGruber, only to be called for the foul then tear his ACL (likely). He had to leave in a wheelchair. More adversity…

Paul drained a corner three midway through the final quarter to take a seven point lead. The Clippers maintained a small advantage until the end, where they had to keep scoring in order to keep pace with San Antonio’s threes. It took Paul, Griffin, and some Jamal Crawford sprinkled off the bench to close it out.

It actually brought our owner to tears. We gave it everything we had. It is kind of hard to believe, but it’s also far from over. This sustained intensity and focus for four quarters won us the game, pure and simple. I’m proud of the way we responded, and I hope we keep it up through Saturday.