In the Los Angeles Clippers' game against the Washington Wizards, the Clippers were 35 points behind just before halftime. Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson joked that "we're trying to get to the position."
Still, when the buzzer sounded, the Clippers had a hard time believing what they had done. Even with Kavay Leonard and Paul George sidelined with injuries, the Clippers tied the NBA's second-largest comeback record since the 1996-97 season, while beating the Wizards 116-115 at Capitals One Arena.
With 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the first half, the Clippers trailed 31-66. The 35-point comeback tied the 2009 Sacramento Kings victory over the Chicago Bulls, second only to the 36 points trailed by the Utah Jazz in 1996 when they beat the Denver Nuggets.
However, the Clippers have become accustomed to such incredible reversals. In the past 25 seasons, they are the first team to achieve three reverse wins in the same season that have fallen behind 24 points and more. In January, they managed to do it all, reversing the Nuggets, the Philadelphia 76ers and now the Wizards.
Clippers guard Luke Kennard said after the win: "Why have we been doing this to ourselves? I don't know, but I don't want to do it anymore. ”
"Man, this is crazy."
Trailing 66-36 in the first half, Clippers coach Tyrone Lue put several starters on the bench at the start of the third quarter. Instead of using Reggie Jackson, Nicholas Batum and Ivits Zubac in the second half, he chose Amir Kofi (29 points), Kennad (25 points) and Terrance Mann (16 points).
The Clippers have been hinting to themselves that they can fight back. They reversed by 25 points in an 87-85 game for the Nuggets on Jan. 11 and visited Philadelphia this Saturday to beat the 76ers led by former coach Doug Rivers 102-101.
When they narrowed the gap to 17 points at the end of the third quarter, the Clippers began to believe they could really turn the tables.
"It's crazy," said Tyrone Lou, who was missing two of their star players, Leonard (injured with a cruciate ligament on the right side) and George (with a torn ligament in the right elbow), as well as another starting forward, Marcus Morris (who was absent for personal reasons), "When I watched the score in the first half, I thought I was 19 points behind, and I took a closer look and saw that it was 29 points. I said, 'Damn,' but it all changed too fast. ”
"We cut the point difference little by little, I saw 17 points behind into the fourth quarter, and I think when we were 10 points behind, we really had a play."
From trailing by 35 points, the Clippers went on an incredible 72-39 offensive run to 103-105 with 2:46 left in the game, but then it looked like they had run out of energy.
The Clippers' once-Best Sixth Man of the Year Harrell completed an amazing chase block against Coffey, and then Beal hit a three-pointer to re-extend the gap to eight with 36.8 seconds left in the game.
The Wizards led by seven points with less than 20 seconds left, but Coffey rushed inside the dunk and, after Kuzma hit two free throws, Kennard hit a 32-foot three-pointer close to the halftime logo with nine seconds left, trailing the lead to 112-115.
The Wizards failed to send the ball out, delivering an expensive 5-second violation. Kennard was then fouled by Beale with a shot with 1.9 seconds left in the game, a three-point shot that fell to the net, and according to ESPN statistics, the Clippers guard completed a four-pointer, becoming the only player in the past 25 seasons to hit a winning four-pointer in the final 5 seconds of the game, which was the first and only time the Clippers led the game.
Batum, a veteran who has played in the league for 13 years, also held his head in his hands on the sidelines, expressing disbelief.
The Wizards looked shocked.
According to ESPN statistics, in the past 20 seasons, when there are 20 seconds left in regular time and the point difference is more than 7 points, the record of the team behind is 1 win and 16239 losses.
"I had nothing to say," Bill said after the game, "only embarrassment." ”
"When I went back, I was so depressed that I couldn't do it," Bill added, "this game that was supposed to give the starters a break could have been easy." ”
The Wizards lost their fourth consecutive game, and this one was bound to be the hardest defeat of the season.
Kennard, who scored seven points in the final nine seconds, was the player who dominated the Clippers victory, and in the post-game locker room, head coach Tyrone Lou was poured cold water.
"It's probably the craziest game I've ever played," Kofi said, "and January is crazy, you never know when the game will end, and before the buzzer goes off, like tonight, anything can happen." ”