The scene was palpable at Staples Center.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were on the bench with long faces. Clippers fans were heading for the exits early. And the Rockets were rolling without James Harden down the stretch.
It was a stunning, inexplicable turn of events. The Clippers had a 19-point lead with 2:27 left in the third quarter in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, and somehow they squandered it.
The Clippers were agonizingly close to making history, needing just one more win to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever. The Clippers missed 14 consecutive shots down the stretch during a nearly 7-minute stretch to end the game as the Clippers lost in unbelievable fashion, falling 119-107 in Game 6. It was the second time the Clippers lost a closeout game in this series.
"We have to figure out in the next 48 hours how to get them back, because we can't get this (game) back," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We gave this one away. There's no doubt about that, all right. But it's still 3-3, and we still have a Game 7."
How do the Clippers recover from such a biting collapse in time for Game 7 at the Toyota Center in Houston?
"We've been in this situation several times now, a couple of times at home and once on the road," Blake Griffin said. "You know, we've got to come out and play. I mean, there's nothing more to it. Game 7 is Game 7. It's about who wants it more. I expect us to be ready."
The Clippers seemed poised and ready for Game 6, and they were until late in third quarter. The Clippers started missing shots, couldn't get stops and Josh Smith and Corey Brewer and Jason Terry and Dwight Howard were knocking down shots for the Rockets.
The breakdowns are no longer important. What's critical for the Clippers is how Rivers, Chris Paul, Griffin and Co. respond to the heartbreak of letting this game fritter away.
The Clippers have won Game 7s before, including that last-second win over the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs this season, but that was at Staples Center.
Last year, the Clippers won Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs against Golden State, but that was also at home.
In 2012, the Clippers beat Memphis in Game 7 on the road in the first round of the playoffs. And in 2006, the Clippers lost in Game 7 against the Suns in the second round of the playoffs in Phoenix.
This will be the fifth Game 7 in Clippers postseason history. And the Clippers have one more chance to win the series to advance to the Western Conference Finals. This is definitely not the road the Clippers wanted to take.
The fourth quarter was an absolute mess as the Clippers were outscored 40-15. Paul made a layup with 6:47 left, the Clippers then missed their next 14 shots, and Paul made a 3-pointer with two seconds left. By then it was long over.
"When you give up 40 points, you stop playing, clearly," Doc Rivers said. "And when you don't score but 15, with the way we score, those aren't good either. Having said that, there's nothing we can do about it now. Hopefully, we can learn from this and get them ready for Sunday. They'll be ready. It's just going to take a little while."
The Clippers have two days between games. Interestingly enough, there are scenarios where the Clippers could've been playing Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday. Instead, they're fighting for their postseason lives with a Game 7 on the road. It was everything they said they didn't want to do.
"Last series we had to go (to Game 7)," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said. "The goal is to win the series and advance. It's always hard to play a team that many times. Obviously, we know all of their best things, and they know all of our best things. This one is for all the marbles. We'll be ready."
It wasn't how they drew it up, but the Clippers have their third -- and final -- attempt at winning the series and advancing to the conference finals.
"We don't have a choice but to forget about this game and move on," Paul said. "We have another Game 7 on our hands. Unfortunately, we're very familiar with Game 7s. We just have to finish off the series."
