LA escaped with the win after the Wizards blew a 35-point lead against the Clippers. There is a time and a place for this.
LA Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson joked that the Clips were right where they wanted to be against the Wizards.
When the buzzer sounded, the Clippers couldn't believe what they had done. LA tied the second- largest NBA comeback in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) and stunned the Wizards 116-115 on Tuesday despite playing without the injured Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The Clippers were down 66-31 with 20 seconds left in the first half. Their 35-point comeback is second only to the Utah Jazz in overcoming a 36 point deficit against the Denver Nuggets in 1996.
The Clippers are used to comebacks. They are the first team in 25 years to win three times in a season after trailing by more than 24 points. In the month of January, they have won comeback victories over the Nuggets, 76ers and Wizards.
Clippers guard Luke Kennard wondered why they kept doing that to themselves. I don't want to do it anymore.
That was crazy.
Several of the Clippers' starters were on the bench in the third quarter. Jackson, Nicolas Batum, and Ivica Zubac were not in the game in the second half and were replaced by guys such as Terance Mann.
The Clippers came back from a 25-point deficit to beat the Nuggets and shocked the 76ers in Philadelphia.
The Clippers began to believe after they cut Tuesday's deficit to 17 by the end of the third quarter.
When I looked at the score, it was crazy because I was without my two stars, Leonard and George. I looked again, and I said, "Oh s---!"
We kept chipping away. I remember when it was 17 going into the fourth, and I think we got a real shot when we got to 10.
The Clippers used a 72-39 run to get back into the game after being down 35. They ran out of gas.
The Sixth Man of the Year blocked a fast-break layup by Coffey, and Bradley Beal hit a 3 on the other end. Washington pushed the lead to eight with 36.8 seconds left.
The Wizards led by seven with under 20 seconds left, but Coffey dunked them. After Kyle Kuzma made one of two free throws, Kennard buried a 32-foot 3-pointer from near the logo to cut the lead to 115-112.
Washington had a costly 5-second violation for not inbounding the ball. With 1.9 seconds to go, Kennard hit a 27 foot 3 while being called on by Beal. The Clippers guard converted the four-point play to become the only player in the past 25 seasons with a game-winning four-point play in the final five seconds of a game. The Clippers were the first to lead the game.
Batum had both of his hands on his head as he stood on the sideline.
Wizards players were shocked.
Entering Tuesday, teams were 1-16,239 over the past 20 seasons when trailing by seven or more points with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
After the game, Beal said he had no words.
When I had to go back in, I was frustrated. It is plain and simple.
This was the hardest defeat of the season to take for Washington.
The Clippers celebration ended with Lue getting drenched in cold water in the visitors locker room after Kennard scored seven points in the last nine seconds.
January has been wild, and it is probably the craziest game I have ever been a part of. You never know when the game is over. Go through the buzzer.
Like tonight, anything can happen.
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