Wednesday Bolts – 5.14.14
: “For Westbrook to be the player he is and can be, those opportunities for bad decisions need to be drowned out by so much glorious Good Westbrook. And the Good Westbrook comes out when Westbrook is still giving zero damns, but is in the middle of chaos (often which he created). Westbrook thrives in chaos. Westbrook has the ability to consistently create chaos. Let Westbrook Be Westbrook is all about embracing that formula for success. Let the man create some chaos and then own it.”
James Herbert of CBSSports.com: “The point guard did what he has done in all three of Oklahoma City’s wins: refusing to let Los Angeles dictate the game. In transition, he was as unstoppable as usual, and in the halfcourt he was relentless. He scored 14 points in the paint and 14 from the foul line. That included the three free throws that sealed it, after being fouled by Paul behind the 3-point line. When Westbrook was lining those shots up, after his team had fought so hard to come back, with the arena a mix of excited and nervous, Durant couldn’t watch.”
Doc Rivers apparently yelled at Clay Bennett after the game.
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com on the call: “Now, if you have the first interpretation we went over from the rule above, it looks like the referees made the correct decision on this call. The Thunder should have been given the ball because Barnes slapped Jackson’s hand, which was touching the ball along with his other hand, and it caused the ball to go out of bounds off of Jackson. However, if you agree with the second interpretation instead, you won’t accept this Case Book example justifying the call after the review. The curious thing remains is how the officials could offer up the explanation of inconclusive evidence when they had the rule at their disposal, justifiably open to the interpretation that would keep the ball in Oklahoma City’s possession. The officials may have accidentally gotten the call right, which would obviously make Doc Rivers furious at the ruling when he was presented with that explanation by the refs. Regardless of whether the call was correct, which it seems to be, the reasoning for it from Brothers and the officiating crew appears to be inconclusive, to say the least.”
Berry Tramel: “Kevin Durant was having the game of his life. The wrong way. Couldn’t make a shot. Couldn’t find a flow. Couldn’t even help his squad all that much. In fact, the Thunder fell apart for the last time when Durant re-entered the game with 8:36 left. Then as some faithless fans hit the Chesapeake Arena aisles and Samsungs all over America were clicked off, Durant’s light came on. It usually does. Durant indeed had the game of his life. The good way. Ten points in 186 seconds. Two massive 3-pointers that supplied CPR to the Thunder season. A fast-break layup that somehow, some way cut the Clipper lead to two with 17 seconds left. And you know how it ended. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles. The Thunder beat the Clippers 105-104 in a game OKC had no business winning. Not when trailing by 13 points with four minutes left. Not when trailing by seven points with 46 seconds left. Not when the Durantula was an ant for most of the biggest game of the Thunder season.”
An instant oral history of Game 5.
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “Still, the Clippers were in control, the shot clock turned off. Then all hell broke loose. Paul took the inbounds pass after the Durant bucket up the right sideline. Westbrook pressured him. Paul later said he expected Westbrook to foul him. Instead the Thunder point guard swiped the ball away with a quick jab and it bounced out to Jackson near midcourt. Jackson bolted into the lane, made contact with Matt Barnes and he and the ball went flying out of bounds under the basket. No foul was called. Referee Tony Brothers, positioned on the baseline, signaled Thunder ball. As all close out-of-bounds plays do, this one went to video replay. Rivers, certain the call would be overturned, picked up his whiteboard to draw up a play. The refs watched the video screen, huddled, conferred and, finally, a verdict: Call stands, Thunder ball. The Clippers went ballistic.”
Steve Perrin of Clips Nation: “I do not subscribe to conspiracy theories. I have one basic problem with them — they require a level of sophistication from the perpetrators that I don’t believe they possess. In other words, I’ve never believed that the NBA and its referees could intentionally and successfully manipulate outcomes of games without people finding out about. If the league has been telling officiating crews for years which team they want to win a game or a series, then members of those crews would have leaked that information by now. Members with more credibility than Tim Donaghy, that is. Basically, I don’t think the NBA and officiating crews make preferential calls, not because they’re not evil enough, but because they’re not smart enough.”
Sam Amick of USA Today: “Rivers would eventually say as much, and he was right. The list of Clippers blunders and possible series-saving plays for the Thunder was long. Westbrook’s aggression sparking the final finish in his 38-point night, the driving layup past Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan cutting the lead to 11 points with 3:53 left. Durant waking up from his slumber just in time, hitting two huge three-pointers and scoring eight of his 27 points in the final 2:31. Clippers point guard Chris Paul, the star who so often evades serious scrutiny, inviting it with his horrific final minute.”
Darnell Mayberry: “One epic collapse deserves another. On Sunday, it was the Thunder blowing a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead and squandering an opportunity to seize a commanding series lead. Two nights later, it was the Los Angeles Clippers who threw away a chance at victory with laughable late-game execution. When they did, the Thunder survived a wild and crazy Game 5 and took a 3-2 series lead following a 105-104 win in a game Oklahoma City never had any business being in down the stretch.”
Jenni Carlson: “That was never more evident than late in the third quarter. The Clippers were getting points from their stars. Paul. Blake Griffin. But they were also getting baskets from Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes. Those guys were hotter than Durant. But Westbrook just wouldn’t let the Clippers get too far ahead. He got to the free-throw line. Scored in transition. Drove to the basket. Dished on a drive to the basket for an assist. Drove to the basket again. And again.”