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The LA Clippers have blown second-quarter leads of 21 and 16 points in two losses this postseason so far and Marcus Morris Sr. knows the problem.
“We’re just relying on us being as good as we are on paper and not ending the game,” Morris said Saturday, a day after the Denver Nuggets stunned the Clippers with a second-half comeback to win the game. Game 5. “It only happened. Twice so there are no overreactions.
“[But] I think it’s just about being as good as we are and leaning on that and just talent and not finishing or playing hard. “
The Clippers enter Sunday’s Game 6 knowing they’ve given life to the Nuggets, who in the final round became the 12th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win a series. The Clippers led by 16 at the end of the second quarter and by 13 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. Denver ran a 35-14 run to avoid elimination.
For the Clippers, this was the sixth time this season they lost a game after leading by 15 or more, tied for the most in the NBA this regular season and postseason, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information.
“We take care of ourselves,” Morris said. “We should have saved that game; we should have stuck to what we were doing. That has been one of our Achilles heels, a kind of alteration of the game when we got up. To get where we are trying to get, and that is being champions. “We have to be better. That has nothing to do with training. That is with the players.”
“[Paul George] He said it best: we had that game under control, we had them right where we wanted them, and we took our foot off the gas. … We all know our capabilities and we have to move on, stick to the script and finish his business. “
But the Clippers strayed from their game plan, Denver started shooting and felt confident, and the Clippers squandered the opportunity to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
“I was frustrated at halftime because I really thought we should have been a lot higher,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “And we had that game in which yesterday we did not allow ourselves to be great. We have to allow ourselves to be great, and to do that you have to have great discipline.”
The Clippers will also need more production than they got in Game 5 from their bench. Rivers’ team touts the second strongest unit in the game, powered by the last two Sixth Man of the Year award winners, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams. But the Clippers bench was outscored by Denver reserves 29-16 in Friday’s game.
Williams shot just 2 of 10 and finished with four points. Harrell had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes. After a month off the court to mourn the loss of his grandmother, Harrell is averaging 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.
The Clippers knew that Harrell, who averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds this season, could take some time to find his rhythm after so much free time.
“He’s just been up and down,” Rivers said. “His role is what it is. He’s always come in, he gives us energy, he scores. So I think this is a series that he can play a bit more, but [Nikola] Jokic is tough on [Ivica Zubac]Jokic is tough on Trez. Is a great player. I’m not going to invest a lot in that. “
More than anything, Rivers says he wants to see his players play the way they are capable of and maintain that level against an opponent who he knows can thrive in elimination games.
“Like we got the upper hand and then we started to change our coverage, doing our thing,” Rivers said. “Of all the teams left in the bubble, this is the team that will hurt you the most when you do it. And we have great evidence.”
