Tough, tough loss tonight for the Clippers as they fought hard in Oklahoma and couldn't close the win out.
There were some bad calls against the Clippers tonight. But there were also some terrible ones. Jordan not getting free throws when Ibaka grabbed his forearm on a dunk attempt? Durant getting free throws because he threw the ball in the general direction of the hoop without possession while on the floor? Just some bad, bad calls that ultimately cost the Clippers the game. Durant had a terrible night and the refs gave him 21 free throws. /end ref rant
On top of that, the Clippers were pretty atrocious tonight in their own right. Bledsoe had 4 turnovers, Barnes was 7-17 and Crawford was 7-18.
Oh yeah, and Chris Paul had the worst game of his life. He was the worst player on the court at all times tonight. He was 2-14 from the field and had 4 turnovers, not to mention a myriad of bad decisions that are so uncharacteristic of him and some pretty weak defense all night.
At the end of the day, there's not a lot to walk away from with anger as a Clippers fan. Without Billups and Butler in the starting lineup and Hill off the bench (who is great against Durant). With Chris Paul's worst game as a pro (probably worse than he ever was in college and high school too). With some unfortunate officiating at bad times.
All that and the Clippers were STILL one shot away from a win in regulation. So even though the Clippers lost tonight, the circumstances seem to indicate that they are a better team. It was a "if everything goes wrong..." game, and for the Clippers, Chris Paul is everything.