PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – The Clippers’ reserves took what happened against the Raptors personally.
Austin Rivers said he couldn’t remember finishing a game minus-20 or worse ever before, and he wasn’t alone, as every Clippers backup who played at least 10 minutes in Toronto ended the game minus-25 or worse on a night the starters had it going.
The backups “took it on the chin” from head coach Doc Rivers afterward, according to J.J. Redick and confirmed by the reserves.
“We had a meeting,” Austin Rivers said, “and he went down the line.”
Then, they responded.
In Toronto, every backup who played meaningful minutes finished on the wrong side of the plus-minus, while every starter was on the positive side. The next two games, both against teams in the top eight in the East, the Clippers found a way to win with every starter on the negative side of the plus-minus.
And they have their backups to thank.
“There were so many reasons for us to say, ‘All right, we’re tired,'” Doc Rivers said. “Our bench saved us.”
That started in Indiana.
At the 4:18 mark in the third quarter against the Pacers, with the Clippers trailing by a point, Austin Rivers entered the game. By the two-minute mark, Jamal Crawford and Wesley Johnson joined him. Then, to start the fourth quarter, Pablo Prigioni took the floor.
The offense wasn’t exceptional. From the three-minute mark in the third quarter to the seven-minute mark in the fourth, the Clippers went 3-for-11, with missed free throws and turnovers sprinkled in. In the past, Austin Rivers said the Clippers might’ve gotten down.
This time, it didn’t matter. The Pacers didn’t score once in that stretch. By the end of it, the Clippers held a seven-point lead.
“The defense that we’ve been playing has been creating our offense,” Austin Rivers said. “We’re getting stops now, we’re running, I’m getting to the basket more, Jamal’s getting easier shots. Wes, Pablo, Cole (Aldrich), it just goes down the line.”
Prigioni finished the night plus-10 in Indiana. Crawford finished plus-16.
“We haven’t made any changes,” Doc Rivers said. “The second unit, they’re in a defensive rhythm right now. I mean, they’re going on eight, nine, 10 possessions in a row where the other team’s not scoring.”
One night later, on the second game of an emotional back-to-back, at the end of a tiring five-game trip, nothing changed.
At the 3:15 mark in the third quarter, Austin Rivers entered the game. Nine seconds later, Crawford joined Rivers, with the Clippers trailing by eight points. They outscored the Hawks by two points before Prigioni joined them at the 1:19 mark and Aldrich followed 14 seconds later.
The Clippers held their opponent scoreless for the final three minutes of the third quarter for the second straight night.
And, once again, the defensive effort translated to the fourth quarter, where the Clippers held the Hawks to just three points through the first eight minutes. Doc Rivers said the pressure Prigioni and Austin Rivers are putting on opposing guards with their hands has been extraordinary, and the defensive communication throughout the team is “off the charts.”
By the time Paul and DeAndre Jordan re-entered the game with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Clippers led by two.
“To me, the (backups) won us the game,” Redick said.
For the second straight night, Crawford finished the game plus-16. Johnson, Prigioni, Aldrich and Austin Rivers were all plus-eight or better.
Despite missing Blake Griffin and three of the Clippers’ starters minus-11 or worse, they found a way to win.
And they have their backups to thank.
“Second unit, after that Toronto game, last two games, all them have been plus and all us starters have been minus,” Paul said. “That’s why we always talk in the locker room, it’s a team.”
