The Basketball Gods can be cruel sometimes.
With the Los Angeles Clippers on the verge of defeating the San Antonio Spurs -- in what undoubtedly would have been their most impressive win of the season when factoring in the competition, and the fact that the Clippers led almost the entire game -- late-game disaster struck, bad offensive habits kicked in, and the Clips couldn't get a stop or rebound on critical possessions.
Instead of moving to 5-2 and quelling some of the criticism that they've looked unimpressive, the Clippers were held to just three points in the final 5:48 by the defending champs, who put on a crunch-time clinic and scored 14 points over that stretch to escape LA with a 89-85 comeback victory.
Chris Paul (12 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists) and Blake Griffin (23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) flirted with triple-doubles, but Kawhi Leonard stole the show Monday night, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and more importantly, stripping Paul with 52 seconds left to seal the Clippers' fate.
Here are five takeaways from Monday's game:
Moving the rock
For all of their struggles in the fourth quarter -- 15 points on 4 of 14 shooting (28.6 percent), seven turnovers -- the Clips actually had nice stretches where their ball movement looked like last season. "I thought in the first quarter we played great -- the ball was moving," coach Doc Rivers said. "Second quarter, we kind of let them back in it. Third quarter we started playing well again." The Clips finished with 26 assists on 33 field goals, which is an absurdly efficient rate. Five players had three or more assists (Paul, Griffin, J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford and Jordan Farmar), and overall, the Clips threw 27 more passes than the Spurs (304 compared to 277).
Playing their roles
Another positive from tonight was the return of DeAndre Jordan's defensive activity. Jordan had yet to assert himself in the same manner he did last season, but tonight was a step in the right direction. Jordan finished with 13 rebounds (10 defensive) and five blocks, and was much more active patrolling the paint, deterring shots around the rim. Even though Redick's shooting came down to earth (13 points on 4-of-10 shooting), the Clips looked to get him involved early one again, which opened up lanes for Griffin and Paul later. His passing (four assists) remains underappreciated. Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes also provided effective and critical minutes off the bench.
Perils of the three-guard lineup
Before the game, Rivers said he was sticking with the Crawford, Redick, Paul starting trio because of its effectiveness offensively. That's true when Crawford is hitting his shots and making up for defensive deficiencies. Against the Spurs, however, Crawford struggled from the field (3 of 13 shooting) and was dominated by Leonard (26 points on 10-of-18 shooting) in the post and mid-range area. It's not a coincidence that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he ran the most plays he's ever run for Leonard tonight. The Clips have been routinely torched by opposing wings -- especially small forwards -- and this remains their primary defensive concern.
The real problem
Clippers' loss to Spurs a step back after a step forward
All of the discussion about this game will be about the Clips' late-game mistakes offensively, but it was their defense that cost them this game. The mismatch of Crawford on Leonard caused their entire defense to scramble -- Jordan often to leave Tim Duncan to double the post, which forced another defender to crash into the paint, freeing up a San Antonio shooter to either shoot, drive or pass -- and gave the Spurs far too many open looks. Luckily for the Clippers, the Spurs couldn't convert, shooting just 9 of 36 on uncontested shots (25 percent). For comparison's sake, the Clips shot 14 of 31 (45 percent) on uncontested shots. The Spurs simply missed a ton of good, open looks. If just a few of those go down, the game could've been ugly.
Poor late-game execution
There's no way to sugarcoat it: The Clippers blew this game. Their fourth-quarter execution was embarrassing, as there were key possessions where they couldn't get a shot off, make basic passes or score in transition with a numbers advantage. The Clips turned the ball over three times in the final 1:49, and all three led directly to Spurs points. "We just had too many empty possessions over the last five minutes," Rivers said. "I thought [the Spurs] executed well." After taking a commanding 82-75 lead with 5:48 remaining, the Clips couldn't finish the Spurs, who finished the game on a 14-3 run and made every key play.
Stats used in this post are from NBA.com/Stats.
Follow Jovan on Twitter @jovanbuha.
