The LA Clippers had a few unlikely heroes in their 122-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
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00:00 Going into Saturday's contest of the Portland Trail Blazers, few expected the LA Clippers to come out on top.
00:05 Down three key players in Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverley, and Montrezl Harrell, the odds were seemingly stacked against them.
00:11 In fact, it was almost more favorable for the Clippers to lose than it was to win.
00:15 A win for the Blazers would have put them in better position to contend for the Western Conference's final seed, and that in turn could mean
00:21 the Los Angeles Lakers would have a tougher first-round opponent in Portland.
00:24 None of that ended up mattering, though, because rather than conceding to the Blazers, the Clippers had one of their most
00:29 well-rounded off-bats performances of the season and pulled away late to win 122-117.
00:34 The Blazers were in control for majority of the game,
00:36 but the Clippers mounted an impressive comeback in the final minutes that swung things in their direction.
00:41 After Portland took a 115-110 lead with 2 minutes and 58 seconds to go in the fourth quarter,
00:46 LA, with Terrence Mann, Rodney Magruder, Landry Schamett, Patrick Patterson, and Jamal Green on the floor against the Blazers starters,
00:54 mounted a 12-2 run. Magruder delivered the final dagger, drilling a game-winning three with less than 27 seconds on the clock.
01:01 Six of LA's ten active players scored double figures, while three others recorded at least seven points.
01:08 Schamett, who struggled to get his shot going bubble so far,
01:11 finished with 19 points on 12 attempts on the floor. After the game, he said,
01:14 "We executed. We listened to our huddles. We talked to each other, communicated, and just kept playing. We pride ourselves on that.
01:21 It's playoff time. We're trying to tune up."
01:24 The Laws pushed Portland one and a half games back in the Memphis Grizzlies to number eight seed and kept teams like the Phoenix Suns and
01:29 New Orleans Pelicans very much alive in the hunt for number nine.
01:32 Head coach, Dr. Rivers, was asked after the game if he pays attention to the situation,
01:36 and at the bottom of Western Conference playoff standings, quickly gave his stance on that, saying,
01:40 "Yeah, that's not a problem. We said that before the game. It's a competition. It always is. It always will be.
01:46 And I want our guys feeling that way."
01:48 Beverly and Harold will likely remain out of the Clippers' contest at the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday,
01:52 But Leonard back in the lineup after missing today's first leg of back-to-back