LOS ANGELES — “It was a dumb ass play.”
That’s how DeAndre Jordan described what of the key moments in the game. The Clippers were down one and time was running out when Blake Griffin drove the lane and put up a shot over Tim Duncan, who had rotated over to help.
Jordan had gone to the basket, looking for either the alley-oop or chance for an offensive rebound. But instead, he tipped in the ball while it was clearly still over the cylinder, voiding the bucket. The mistake cleared the path for the Spurs to get the win and take a 3-2 series lead.
“I was just trying to make a play on the ball, but it ended up being a dumb play,” said Jordan, who admitted touching the ball. Even Clipper coach Doc Rivers said he thought it was the right call.
Would the ball have fallen through the hole on it’s own? We’ll never know for sure. My gut says probably, but some of the replays make it look like the ball would have rolled harmlessly off the rim.
After the game was about as dejected as I can remember seeing the normally energized Jordan, as well as the Clippers locker room. The question now is how fast can they recover and find their stride in a must-win Game 6 Thursday.
