Stunned Clippers need 'relentless' bounceback in Game 7

LOS ANGELES - All season, the Los Angeles Clippers have strived to live up to two mantras, "Be Relentless" and "Hard Core," and on Sunday in Houston they will need to deliver on both of them if their playoff run is to continue.

Seemingly on the brink of clinching the franchise's first Western Conference finals berth when leading the Rockets by 19 points in the second half on Thursday, the hosts suffered a late collapse that set up a decisive Game Seven.

The Clippers locker room was a picture of bewildered disappointment after the players had trooped off the Staples Center court, and many of their fans exited the stadium in total disbelief well before the final buzzer sounded.

"There's probably a plethora of emotions when something like this happens," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose next task will be to lift his players' spirits for Sunday's game.

"I felt bad for them, honestly, because they want it so bad, and sometimes you want stuff so bad that you can't get it because you're in your own way, and I thought we clearly got in our own way."

A year after their playoff hopes were rocked by a racism scandal that left previous owner Donald Sterling with a life ban from the NBA, the Clippers have been one of the most impressive teams in the postseason.

Spearheaded by All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, they fought back from 2-3 down to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in a pulsating opening round before taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the Rockets.

However, the Clippers failed to close out their Western Conference semi-final series on Tuesday in Houston where they were pounded 124-103, then fell apart in Game Six when victory was beckoning as they were outscored 40-15 in the final quarter.

"We played so well for three quarters, and then ... when you give up 40 points, you've stopped playing, clearly," said Rivers. "What could have went wrong went wrong.

"Hopefully we can learn something from this and get them ready for Sunday. It's just going to take a little while."

The Rockets will aim to make the most of home court advantage as they bid to become only the ninth team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series, the most recent being the Phoenix Suns against the LA Lakers in 2006.

"We've been in this situation several times now, a couple times at home, once on the road," Griffin said of Sunday's must-win game. "We've got to come out and play. It's about who wants it more. I expect us to be ready."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

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To Clippers' delight, Rivers more than just coach's kid

LOS ANGELES - Austin Rivers has gone from the 'coach's kid' to proving he belongs with the championship contending Los Angeles Clippers.

A flurry of jump shots and a blur of drives to the basket sparked the coach's son to 15 of his playoff-high 25 points during a defining third quarter as the Clippers beat the Houston Rockets on Friday.

The performance left the Staples Center crowd chanting Austin's name and his father and coach, Doc Rivers, suppressing a smile as the Clippers took a 2-1 lead in their best of seven Western Conference semi-final series.

The teams play again on Sunday in Los Angeles.

"It was so much fun out there," the younger Austin, a guard, said after coming off the bench.

"I've worked so hard this summer and this season with (Doc) and my team mates. I have to keep going and never get too high or too low."

His outburst was an undeniable high, so much so that Clippers point guard Chris Paul approached Doc Rivers and told him he had permission to be a dad and not just the team's coach.

"I told him 'you can put the other hat on for a second,' " Paul said.

"You see that during the game and (I thought about my own parents). As a team we talk about it all the time - it has to be an odd dynamic to be coach, dad and son."

That dynamic is one they have tried to downplay since the Clippers acquired Austin in a January deal with New Orleans.

He became the first player in NBA history to play for his father, and his performance has been a referendum on Doc's decision to bring him on.

But until Friday the reviews had been mixed, as the 22-year-old guard can be unpredictable and erratic.

In the closing minute of a Game Two loss to the Rockets on Wednesday, Austin slipped and lost the ball on a play that led to taunts across the country.

But he has been pivotal in the playoffs, averaging nine points and shooting 48 percent from the field.

He is gaining the confidence of his team and fan base, even if his coach is not willing to turn into a doting father just yet.

"Yeah, you want (Austin to do well) but they're all my sons," Doc Rivers said. (Editing by Gene Cherry)

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Stellar defense by Clippers gives Rivers title hopes

LOS ANGELES - All season long, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has been preaching his mantra that NBA championships can be won only with good defense and his new team finally came up with the goods for all four quarters.

The veteran coach struggled to keep a beaming smile off his face after the Clippers produced an all-round effort against a severely weakened Chicago Bulls lineup at Staples Center on Sunday, romping to a 121-82 victory that was the largest winning margin in franchise history.

The Bulls were always likely to struggle in the absence of their star player Derrick Rose, who is out for the season after injuring his right knee last Friday, and they were routed as six Los Angeles players scored in double-digits.

But it was the Clippers' stingy defense, superbly led by Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, that most excited Rivers, who took charge of the team in June after being acquired from the Boston Celtics in exchange for a future draft pick.

"I am just really happy," Rivers beamed as he spoke to reporters after the Pacific Division-leading Clippers improved to 10-5 for the season. "This is the most active our hands have been defensively.

"It was yesterday's game (against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday) in the first quarter for all four quarters. I thought our bench was wonderful in the first half, second too, but especially in the first half.

"Our bigs were in for the fight. They rebounded, even on makes they were able to get the ball out as quick as possible and move it up the floor. We scored a ton of points after they made shots within six seconds and when you can do that it really hurts the other team."

The Clippers out-rebounded the Bulls 44-39 in front of a capacity crowd of 19,245 with forward Griffin pulling in 12 and center Jordan seven. Los Angeles also came up with eight steals to Chicago's two.

"It was the perfect storm in some way because there was no Rose but I thought our defensive energy was fantastic," said Rivers. "We were sharp offensively, we were making shots and moving the ball."

Asked to assess the performance of Chicago, who were missing both Rose and Jimmy Butler (turf toe), Rivers replied: "I expected them to play great ... but we jumped on them so quickly that I thought it had to have a mental effect.

"If they would have come out early and played well, I would have thought the game would be tight all night, but we came out and played unbelievable."

ERRATIC DEFENSE

Rivers, one of only four active coaches to win an NBA title, has watched the Clippers perform erratically on defense this season, most notably at home against the Kings on Saturday when they eked out a 103-102 win

After defending brilliantly in the opening quarter, the Clippers faltered badly and had to rely on All-Star point guard Chris Paul to bail them out as he hit the go-ahead free throw with 2.5 seconds left to finish with a team-high 22 points.

"At some point we knew we weren't going to shoot the ball as well, but we've got to find a way to sustain our defense," Paul said. "We've got to put teams away and not keep being in all these dogfights.

"It was kind of fitting we won with a defensive stop because we've been trying to improve our defense. Hopefully it gives us some confidence."

For Rivers, the Clippers defense this season has been an improving work in progress.

"It's what's getting us our leads, but then we often break down," he said. "Early on we are scoring and getting stops, scoring and getting stops, and then it seems when we get that lead, we kind of break down in our focus.

"We have to be a better defensive team than we are, and we have to continue to play offense. I know our defense is going to come. You can see it in spurts. We are getting timely stops. We're going to get it."

Rivers spent nine NBA seasons in charge of Boston where he amassed a record of 416-305 in the regular season and 59-47 in the postseason, including an NBA championship in 2008

His Celtics defenses rarely missed their rotations, ranking near the top of the league in defensive field goal percentage and points allowed in each of his last five seasons.

Rivers credited big men Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins for underpinning that successful defense and has targeted Jordan, as the rim protector, and Griffin, as the post defender, to perform similar roles for the Clippers.

"We have to be a connected defensive team and those two guys in a lot of ways are our defensive captains," Rivers said.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue)

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