Advertisement

A look at how the Clippers have fared in Game 7s since 2012

Rockets forward Josh Smith grabs a rebound away from Clippers forward Blake Griffin during Game 6 of this year's Western Conference semifinals.

Rockets forward Josh Smith grabs a rebound away from Clippers forward Blake Griffin during Game 6 of this year’s Western Conference semifinals.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Share

The Clippers will play the Houston Rockets in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday at Houston’s Toyota Center.

The odds are stacked against the Clippers considering home teams win Game 7s in NBA series nearly 80% of the time. But the Clippers are 3-0 in Game 7s since 2012, including winning one on the road.

The Clippers had Game 7 victories in the first round over Memphis in 2012, Golden State in 2014 and San Antonio earlier this month.

Advertisement

Here’s a look at how those games went down:

Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on May 2

With one second left and the score tied, Chris Paul banked in a jumper over Danny Green and Tim Duncan to give the Clippers a 111-109 win over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series at Staples Center.

Paul finished with a team-high 27 points on nine-for-13 shooting and six assists. The Clippers’ point guard did this while injured -- with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Paul sustained a left hamstring strain. The Clippers said it was questionable whether he’d return, but he checked back into the game with 6 minutes 27 seconds left in the second quarter.

Said Paul: “Down the stretch our team has a thing that we say, what [Clippers Coach] Doc [Rivers] said, don’t let go of the rope. At any time we could have let go of the rope, and just thought it’s these guys, we’ve fought hard and we could have conceded. But we kept fighting and guys made plays in order to win.”

Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center in 2014

Draymond Green made a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to bring the Warriors within two points of the Clippers at 120-118. J.J. Redick, Chris Paul and Darren Collison then each made two free throws to help secure the 126-121 victory for the Clippers.

Advertisement

The Clippers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit. Chris Paul had 22 points, 14 assists and four steals. DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 18 rebounds.

“We just showed a lot of fight,” Paul said. “There were ups and downs throughout the entire series. This was a slugfest. It was a dogfight. That’s a good team we beat over there. Steph [Curry] was amazing all series long.”

Game 7 against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum in 2012

The Clippers’ reserves outscored Memphis’ bench, 41-11, en route to an 82-72 win. Kenyon Martin had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Nick Young scored 13, Mo Williams nine and Eric Bledsoe eight.

The Clippers won the game despite several injuries, including to starters Blake Griffin (sprained left knee), Chris Paul (strained right hip) and Caron Butler (broken left hand) and key reserve Mo Williams (sore right hand).

“Our bench was our MVP,” Randy Foye said. “They realized what they had to do. We had a lot of guys hurt, so we just continued to grind.”

Advertisement

Advertisement