The Los Angeles Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-109 in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series. Chris Paul led the Clippers with 27 points and 6 assists, including a go-ahead bank-in runner to put the Clippers up by two with one second remaining in regulation. Blake Griffin had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career playoff triple-double in this series. Tim Duncan finished with a team-high 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs.
It was a 13-6 start to the game for the Spurs as they made 6 of their first 8 shots from the field. Kawhi Leonard did a good job of taking J.J. Redick out of rhythm to start the game, but the Clippers got a huge boost from Matt Barnes who had 10 first quarter points. The Clippers made four threes in the opening quarter and got an early bench boost from Jamal Crawford and Glen Davis with 7 combined points. Both teams shot over 55 percent in the opening quarter. Chris Paul left the game at the 1:52 mark in the first quarter with an apparent hamstring injury. Spurs won the first quarter 30-28.
Chris Paul returned to the game midway through the second quarter. Jamal Crawford filled the void nicely scoring 12 first half points and keeping the Clippers threatening offensively. Blake Griffin committed his third foul at the 4:12 mark but the Clippers won the quarter 29-25 and closed the half on an 8-3 run. Paul and Griffin missed a combined 23 minutes in the first half. The Clippers bench led 16-13, Tim Duncan had 13 points, and both teams shot 50 percent or better from the field in the first half.
Paul aggravated his hamstring again late in the third quarter, where the Spurs won 23-22. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were especially aggressive in the quarter. Chris Paul finished the third quarter with a bank-in three-pointer to give the Clippers a one-point edge going into the fourth. Paul scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half (9 in the 4th), making the biggest plays in the final quarter, which included a go-ahead runner to give the Clippers their final lead with 1 second remaining in regulation.
The Clippers made 14 three-pointers in the game, more than they made in the last three games combined.
There were 31 lead changes and 16 ties in the game.
The Clippers advance to play the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. Game 1 is on Monday at 8:30 PM on TNT.
