PHILADELPHIA – In any other place, the Clippers likely wouldn’t have found themselves in a position to tie with the game on the line.
But against the eight-win 76ers, after nearly 48 minutes of lackluster play resulting at one point in a 19-point deficit, the Clippers still found themselves down just three points with a chance to tie.
J.J. Redick didn’t disappoint.
The Clippers drew up a well-designed play for their 3-point specialist, and Redick knocked down the wide-open triple, sending the game to overtime where the Clippers immediately went on an 8-0 run in a 98-92 win.
With an alley-oop to DeAndre Jordan to start overtime, the Clippers led for the first time since 2-0. The next basket, a bucket from Jamal Crawford, who finished with 23 points, gave the Clippers their largest lead of the game.
Chris Paul added another jumper for good measure and another dunk followed from Jordan, who had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds on the night.
The Sixers threatened again late, as the Clippers, who shot just 36.8 percent and 22.7 percent from long range, went cold again. But much like it did in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers a chance, the defense came through in overtime enough to leave victoriously, with the Clippers now heading to Boston 3-0 thus far on the four-game road trip.
Much like in Miami, the Clippers couldn’t hit anything in the first quarter. Only this time, that shooting funk carried to the second quarter, and the third quarter, and most of the fourth. But the Sixers weren’t hitting either most of the night, finishing 37.8 percent from the floor with 21 turnovers, and all it would take was a small stretch of sustained offensive play to potentially leave with a win.
That came in the fourth quarter, with the Clippers going on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to two points two separate times. The Sixers got it back up to four when an offensive rebound from Jordan led to free throws for him, and he split those, setting up the opportunity for Redick after a stop from the Clippers.
