The Los Angeles Clippers, for the first four seasons of the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era, have been defined by all sorts of comebacks. During the 2019-20 season, the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets during the NBA bubble. The following year, the Clippers turned the tides and came back from two 2-0 deficits in the first two rounds of the playoffs, capped by a 25-point comeback against the Utah Jazz during their closeout Game 6 victory.
So it's not a surprise anymore that the Clippers have, once again, pulled off yet another come-from-behind victory, this time against the Detroit Pistons on the first night of a back-to-back.
With two and a half minutes left in the game, the Clippers, led by Paul George during a scheduled Kawhi Leonard rest day, looked dead in the water. But they just don't know when to quit. Ty Lue rolled with the lineup of Amir Coffey, Terance Mann, Luke Kennard, Nicolas Batum, and Moses Brown to end the game, and it inexplicably paid dividends.
That group went on an 8-0 run that cut the Pistons' lead to two with just a minute left in the game. 39 seconds later, George, who was re-inserted into the game, was fouled by former teammate Hamidou Diallo, gifted a golden chance to tie the game at the charity stripe. But PG13 split his freebies.
Shortly thereafter, Killian Hayes matched George's efforts at the foul line. This set up Terance Mann's heroics (who else?), nailing his signature leaning pull-up to send the game to overtime.
.@terance_mann gives us a late present of some bonus basketball 🎁 https://t.co/cjkZxwGfJb pic.twitter.com/BfVsYcSv0M
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 27, 2022
And Mann received some much-deserved praise from the Clippers hopeful who wished he was given a larger role on a nightly basis.
Idk how long it’s going to take but I’ve been saying it for years. Terance Mann should no longer be treated like a complimentary player whose mins differ so much from night to night.
He needs to be a core role guy who gets 20+ mins every night regardless of circumstance
— Dime Dropper (@DimeDropperPod) December 27, 2022
Things we learned today: Terance Mann should play more minutes. Play more wings.
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) December 27, 2022
Terance Mann is very good who would have guessed
— Forgey (@Forgeykp) December 27, 2022
And I say yet again, Terance Mann for starting point guard
— Charlie ⚡️ (@CharlieIsWashed) December 27, 2022
Terance Mann should never not get 25 minutes a night. It’s crazy he’s treated like he’s some rookie still having to prove himself
— JP – The Wholesome Truth Teller (@jay_pea619) December 27, 2022
Terance Mann was a +28 in only 21 minutes of play, a ridiculous output. He proved, yet again, that he plays at his best with his back against the wall, and Clippers fans know all too well just how capable he is of contributing to winning basketball.
The Clippers proceeded to run away with the game in overtime, overcoming the plucky Pistons with a 142-131 victory. Paul George had 32 points and 11 dimes in the winning effort, and perhaps this is the start of their roll, especially with Kawhi Leonard playing his best basketball of the season as of late.
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