[外電] Clippers Find Reason to Believe
Clippers Find Reason to Believe
By Jason Reid, Times Staff Writer
May 1, 2006
One more victory.
It might seem difficult for some to believe, but that's all the Clippers
need to win their first postseason series in California, and second in
franchise history.
Really.
They lead the Denver Nuggets, 3-1, in a best-of-seven first-round playoff
series, and could finish things tonight in Game 5 at Staples Center.
In Clipper history, everything that could go wrong often has, so they
don't take success for granted.
The struggling Nuggets are on the ropes, the Clippers said, and it's
time to deliver a knockout punch.
"When you're competing against somebody, that other person doesn't want
to lose either, so you've got to do it to them before they do it to you,"
swingman Cuttino Mobley said. "It's nothing personal, we're not trying
to disrespect them, but when you have the chance, you've got to step on
people's necks."
Since moving to California before the 1978-79 season, the Clippers have
made four postseason appearances.
The Utah Jazz swept the Clippers in the 1997 playoffs, and the Clippers
lost in the fifth game of best-of-five series to Utah in 1992 and the
Houston Rockets in 1993.
The franchise, making its seventh postseason appearance in 36 seasons,
has not won a series since the Buffalo Braves defeated the Philadelphia
76ers in the first round of the 1976 Eastern Conference playoffs, but
the Clippers appear determined to change that.
They took charge Saturday in Game 4, routing Denver, 100-86, at Pepsi
Center.
Coach Mike Dunleavy had all the angles covered, players said, and they
did their part, executing well in many areas and rebounding from a
94-87 loss in Game 3.
On Saturday, the Clippers took an 11-point halftime lead, and went ahead
by as many as 23 points in the second half.
The Clippers showed significant improvement in boxing out, among their
problems in the series, limiting the Nuggets to eight offensive rebounds.
In the first three games, Denver had 19, 16 and 13 offensive rebounds,
respectively.
That's progress, players said.
"It keeps dropping … so we're proud of that," power forward and co-captain
Elton Brand said. "We were ready in all spots."
Especially on defense.
Dunleavy's schemes, and Quinton Ross' effort, have helped to contain star
forward Carmelo Anthony, who is shooting only 33.3% in the series.
With their No. 1 option ineffective, the Nuggets have often stalled on
offense, and they've also missed 45 of 56 three-pointers.
"When they didn't get offensive rebounds, when we didn't let that happen,
they couldn't score," sixth man Corey Maggette said. "We've just got to
continue to keep them off the boards.
"They tried to turn it into a physical game, doing a lot of crazy stuff,
but we're not going to give in to that. We know we can beat them, as long
as we do what we're supposed to do, so we've just got to go out there
and play."
Maggette performed at a high level in the Mile High City, leading the
second unit's strong effort.
In Game 3, Maggette scored a team-high 23 points off the bench, and he
had 19 to lead seven players in double figures in Game 4.
Backup point guard Shaun Livingston contributed 16 points, six assists
and six rebounds in a performance among the best of his two-year career,
and center Chris Kaman, slowed because of a viral illness, had 12 points
with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Teammates praised Livingston, who was aggressive on offense from the
moment he came in to the game late in the first quarter.
"Shaun Livingston was awesome!" Brand said. "Sixteen, six and six,
that's not second-[unit] stats in the playoffs. He was amazing."
And now, the Clippers are on the verge of taking their biggest step
since, well, since they've been the Clippers.
"We have a chance to close this out, the first series since '76, so
it's going to be huge," Livingston said of tonight's game. "We don't
want to go back to Denver."
--
你們認為海南高高在上，位於雲端嗎？他們真的就這麼高不可攀嗎？
他們的成績的確是有目共睹的。以他們過去的戰績來看，我們和海南的確有天壤之別。
但是----
我在睡前，都會想像著有一天......
我每晚都在腦裡描繪我們和海南大學附屬高中參加IH的戰況。
從那一年前起，每晚都如此！
--
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