Clippers Blow 18-Point Lead & Lose to Kings

March 26, 2017

The Clippers gave back an 18-point lead at Staples Center on Sunday, and lost to Sacramento 98-97.  The rally was capped by a put back from Willie Cauley-Stein.  Chris Paul missed a 21-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds left that sealed the fate of the Clips.

“It’s a bad loss. It’s probably the worst one in the regular season in my career, probably,” said Paul, who had 17 points and nine assists. “Yeah, that’s tough. That was a bad one. That’s a bad loss. Yeah.”

With Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan resting early in the 4th quarter, the Kings mounted a furious comeback.  A Buddy Heild 3-pointer pulled Sacramento to within 94-85 with 3:22 left.

Heild hit two more 3-pointers just nine seconds apart, and Sacramento was only down 96-93 with 2:10 left.  After Griffin made 1 of 2 free throws, the Kings continued their 3-point onslaught.  Langston Galloway’s 3-pointer made it 97-96 with 1:23 left.  That set the stage of Cauley-Stein’s last second heroics.

The Clippers have lost 10 of their last 19 games overall, and they fell behind the Jazz by 1 game in the race for 4th place in the Western Conference.

Jordan had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, and Griffin finished with 17 points.

“These games should mean so much more to us than to them. Nothing against them. But just being out of the playoff picture… We have something to play for,” Blake Griffin said about the loss to the Kings. “And tonight it looked like it was the opposite, the other way around in that last little bit… It’s over now. Can’t do much about it now except try to move on.”

The Clippers played without J.J. Redick, who injured his right ankle when he stepped on a basketball in the game against Utah on Saturday.

There’s only 9 games left in the regular season.  The Clippers will try to get back in the win column on Wednesday, when they host the Wizards at Staples Center.

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