Today, April 15th, marks what would’ve been the final day of the NBA’s 2019-20 regular season. Unfortunately, the LA Clippers and many teams like them hoping to make a deep postseason run starting this weekend will have to wait until further notice from the league.

April 15th also marks a historic day in the NBA. No, there wasn’t a championship won or a blockbuster deal made. It was, however, the day a number of NBA and Clippers franchise records were set, including one for the largest playoff comeback in league history.

A year ago today, the LA Clippers overcame a 31-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Trailing 94-63 with 7:31 left in the third, the Clippers outscored the Warriors 72-37 over the final 19 minutes of the game to miraculously steal Game 2 in arguably the toughest arena to play a game in. They would eventually go on to lose the series in six games, but it was all a cherry on top of a fantastic season considering they entered the postseason as the heaviest underdog in the last 30 years.

Here’s a brief look back at how that game went from nearly a second-straight Warriors blowout to a game that earned the Clippers a mountain of respect.

1st Quarter

Just like they did to start Game 1, Warriors fans booed Patrick Beverley heavily during the Clippers’ pregame introductions.

DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn quad muscle almost four minutes into the game diving for a loose ball in front of the Warriors' bench. He wasn't expected to have a huge positive impact for Golden State. In fact, the Clippers exploited Cousins in pick-and-roll scenarios in Game 1, and likely would've the rest of the series.

Stephen Curry picked up two fouls in the opening period, but remained in the game and scored 11 of the Warriors 33 points. The Clippers only trailed 33-25 after one quarter, but it felt like they were close to losing their grip after giving up 16 free throws in the first 12 minutes.

One of the biggest problems in the first few games was also converting 3-on-2’s and 2-on-1’s in transition. Whether it was too much passing or just missing open looks, the team left a number of scoring opportunities on the board.

2nd Quarter

Curry ripped off another 11 points in the quarter and Kevon Looney added 10 off the Warriors bench filling in for the injured Cousins.

Golden State outscored the Clippers 40-25 in the second quarter, blowing up their lead to 73-50 at half. The first half saw a 59 percent shooting clip from the Warriors while the Clippers' managed to shoot 45 percent. To make matters worse, Golden State shot 22 free throws to the Clippers' 12 in the first half.

Keep in mind, the Clippers trailed by 23 while Kevin Durant was held to 8 first half points. Patrick Beverley and JaMychal Green had done a fantastic job defending the Durant, but he was also incredibly passive.

And yet, head coach Doc Rivers’ kept the belief in his Clippers.

“[I told them] that we were going to win,” Rivers said. “Just hang in there. Just hang in there long enough. I was honest with them. I said, I don't know how. I said, We're going to figure this out, but just hang in there with each other.”

3rd quarter

The Warriors started the third quarter with their usual rampage as the Clippers attempted to hang in there. Golden State made their first nine field goal attempts and built their lead all the way up to its biggest margin of 31.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Clippers had a 0.01 percent chance to win the game with 7:31 left in the third.

And so began the chipping away.

Lou Williams lit up like a blowtorch, scoring 17 points in the quarter. JaMychal Green and Danilo Gallinari both pitched in nine points apiece. Foul trouble forced Curry to the bench for most of the period, and the Clipper defense forced a total of nine third quarter turnovers.

“I just got lost in the moment to be honest,” Williams admitted. “I was trying to cut the lead down. I know we were down 30 at one point. I just got lost in the moment. I really can't recall a moment that I thought the momentum was changing. It probably was like a three point game. That's what I kind of realized, Oh, we got a shot at winning this game. I think I went into another, like, place after that.”

Despite the run that allowed the Clippers to enter the 4th quarter down just 14, everything came a lot easier for the Warriors than it did for LA. The individual talents of Durant and Curry alone made the idea of a comeback feel impossible.

4th quarter

Stop after stop was followed by shot after shot for the Clippers in the fourth quarter. Groans within Oracle Arena grew louder with each stop and score for Los Angeles. Before anyone could take in what was happening, the 31-point deficit was down to 20. Then it was down to 10. And with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, the Clippers' finally tied the game at 128 apiece.

Stephen Curry hit a deep three-pointer that sent Oracle into a frenzy and truly felt like one of those, ‘Well, here the Warriors go on their insane runs again.’ The Clippers, led by the guy who rarely shows emotion on the court in Williams, remained calm and collected.

Williams hit what felt like his 20th lefty leaner of the night to tie the game, Klay Thompson missed a wide open three-pointer from the top of the key, setting the stage for the biggest play of the game from the two youngest players in the game: a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drive and kick to Landry Shamet for the go-ahead three-pointer.

Here was Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer’s reaction to the two big Clippers baskets late.

The Clippers would hold onto the lead and tie the series at 1-1. No one felt like they were going to win the series, but it sure felt like a clear message was being sent: Don’t take us lightly.

“This is special,” said Doc Rivers on the largest playoff comeback in NBA history. “I don't care if you're playing – I can't think of a really, really, really bad team, and you're down 30 on the road to anybody, you come back, it's special. But that's what was special. Not winning the game. You could hear them in the locker room. They're not talking about [being underdogs]. They're talking about coming back and winning.”

That also wasn’t the first time the Clippers came back from big deficits on the road last season. They'd overcome a 30 point deficit against the Boston Celtics, a 25 point deficit against the Detroit Pistons, and a 20 point deficit against the Charlotte Hornets.

Lou Williams finished with 36 points and 11 assists. Montrezl Harrell poured in 25 points and 10 rebounds.

“We just continue to play hard,” said Williams. “We just play hard. I've always said to guys, Just play hard as you can, live with the results. We have those big deficits like that, I don't really think we can come back and win the game. We just play as hard as we can to give ourselves an opportunity not to get embarrassed. When it gets to a place like this is okay, doable, that's when your mindset kind of clicks.”

Here are the records set at the time from Game 2 vs. Warriors:

  • Largest comeback in NBA playoff history (31 points)
  • Franchise playoff record for assists in a game (34 assists)
  • Franchise record for points in a half (85 points)
  • Franchise record for points in a quarter (44 points in third quarter)
  • Franchise record for most made field goals by a single player without a miss (9-of-9 FG for Montrezl Harrell)
  • Franchise record for points in a half by a single player (29 points from Lou Williams in second half)
  • Lou Williams becomes second player since 1985 to log 30+ points & 10+ assists off the bench in a playoff game. The first was assistant coach Sam Cassell back on May 30, 1995 against the San Antonio Spurs
  • Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell became the first duo to score at least 25+ points off the bench in Game 1. They did it again in Game 2
  • Lou Williams set personal playoff career-high in points (36) and assists (11)
  • Danilo Gallinari set a personal playoff career-high in points (24)

 

Here are the full highlights from the game: