LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers had just landed in this city, mere hours after spending an entire plane ride digesting their second loss to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.
So as soon as he hopped into his car, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue already plotted in-game adjustments. Before he would watch game footage, Lue called players individually with a simple message.
"The game is over. It happens. It doesn’t mean anything," Lue recalled saying. "They took care of their two games at home. Now we have to take care of our two games. We can’t look in the past. We have to look ahead."
It's perhaps a stretch to say that Lue’s phone conversations were the only reason why the Clippers finished with a 106-92 Game 3 win over Phoenix on Thursday at Staples Center. But it captured how the Clippers responded appropriately to a 0-2 series deficit for three consecutive playoff series.
"It’s special, the relationship I have with T and relationship that T-Lue has with everyone on this team in general," George said. "It says a lot about him."
When Lue talked to George on the phone, the Clippers coach also addressed a different subject. George missed two foul shots with 8.2 seconds left. That marked the second-most significant possession in Game 2 before Suns center Deandre Ayton made a winning lob off an inbounds pass with 0.7 seconds remaining. Still, Lue downplayed those missed free throws and paid more attention to rest of George’s body of work.
"We wouldn’t be in this position without you," Lue recalled telling George.
Nearly two days later, George showed the Clippers would not be in a position to force at least a Game 5 without him. He finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
"I thought we did a great job of moving on, and I moved on," George said. "I had to be better, and I have to be better. Everything was then put into going Game 3. All my energy was directed toward a better game."
Nothing personified the Clippers’ bounce-back performance more than George’s 30-footer just before the third quarter ended. That gave the Clippers an 80-69 lead after outscoring the Suns 34-21 in the third quarter. So, George blew kisses to his significant other and children.
"It’s a reason why I shoot it in my pregame," George said. "It’s more so for feel if I get those shots in a game. I want to have some type of feel on the range of that shot."
George admitted he didn’t call glass, but he felt great about the shot because of the timing and launch angle. Yes, the Clippers have looked much differently in Game 3s than the first two games of each playoff series. Unlike during last year’s postseason bubble collapse when they squandered a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers have not underachieved during these playoffs. They have just initially struggled to match up with their opponent’s star players.
First, the Clippers encountered Dallas Mavericks star Luca Doncic. Then, they faced off against Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. Each time, the Clippers eventually countered those threats both with varying defensive assignments and each star player experiencing various injuries.
Against the Suns, a similar theme played out. In his first game since after being sidelined for 11 days because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Chris Paul had 15 points while shooting 5-of-19 from the field and 2-of-7 from 3-point range along with 12 assists. While wearing a mask stemming from a crooked nose suffered in Game 2, Devin Booker had 15 points while shooting only 5-of-21 from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
To counter those threats, Lue started second-year guard Terance Mann on Paul in hopes of preserving George’s workload. Lue assigned Beverley on Booker after irritating him in Game 2 with mixed results. Lue started center Ivica Zubac to provide a verticality threat, while bringing Marcus Morris Sr. off the bench after nursing pain in recent days. Offensively, Reggie Jackson (23 points), Zubac (15) and Mann (12) chipped in with with double-digit efforts.
No wonder the Clippers have playfully compared Lue to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick for his various adjustments. Lue contended that "I’m nowhere near him," considering Belichick has won six Super Bowls while Lue has won one NBA championship. But he’ll take it.
"It means a lot just for those guys to trust me and determine that what I’m doing is best for the team and not for me," Lue said. "I take pride in making adjustments and trying to do the right thing. But these guys have to execute it. They’ve been doing a great job of that so far."
That is because some of the adjustments go beyond how Lue has managed playing time. Though Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed a fifth consecutive game because of a sprained right knee, he watched the game with his family in a suite before talking to his teammates at halftime. Beverley also gave an impassioned speech about maintaining their intensity level in the second half.
No wonder the Clippers stormed to an 80-69 lead after outscoring the Suns 34-21 in the third quarter. After Phoenix trimmed the Clippers’ lead to 89-83 with 7:13 left, the Clippers closed the game out with a 17-9 run.
"This team is resilient and we always believe," Jackson said. "We never give in and we never say die. We never really have doubt. We continue to just chip away and figure out ways to be better and figure out ways to to impose our will on our opponents. This team is just hungry. It’s always hungry to get better. You don’t know what the results are going to be. But I love our approach. I love the way we come out and continue to fight and continue to find ways to get it done."
Some of those ways involve Lue having phone conversations with his players, even if it takes place in his car following a long flight home.
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