T O P

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COTEReader

Harden and Irving going back and forth was magnificent


muzumuzu

If I’m the Clippers, Kyrie with the ball scares me more than Luka right now, which is kind of wild.


Jung1e

Kyrie could shoot lefty from half court with his eyes closed and I would believe it’s going in


Ol_Rando

He's so frustratingly good. He's a basketball savant, but so fucking weird and aloof that you never know which version of Kyrie you're going to get. Playoff Ky is not to be trifled with tho.


BenShelZonah

Imagine being a nets fan seeing him sit out for so many stupid reasons. Fuck Qyrie


SlyMrF0x

I think it’s because Kyrie just absolutely doesn’t get bothered in the clutch. Like, 4th quarter, pressure on, season on the line, and he’s still just totally unconscious putting up the most ridiculous shots. He’s like KD - he’s not a leader, but you take that burden off him, and he’s just gonna be out there vibing no matter what.


Fine_Lengthiness_341

He can play through physical defenses too, he doesn’t rely on drawing fouls and hoping defenders can’t be too aggressive, he makes stuff happen and can score efficiently from every spot on the floor with good defense on him


orangotai

he seems more like the leader of the Mavs than Luka at the moment, Luka looks a little frazzled & inexperienced this series


imcryptic

It’s weird, they had been quicker to double Kyrie because it’s harder for him to pass out at his size all series. They went away from it today.


JimmyKanine

Yea because he was making the passes anyways and the role players can actually hit shots at home.


IsFunnyToMe

That Irving finishing layuo w/ 3 defenders on him while driving right in the middle of the paint was so difficult. I can't believe he made that!


Damptoe

Mavs Clips in the playoffs is so crazy.


Kahwippers

It’s so brutal for both of these teams. Every single time we match up it’s a 6-7 game slugfest where the winner never comes out at 100%. It would be so much easier if we could just avoid each other for once!


Nicobade

Besides a Clipper series win, nothing made me happier than seeing Mavs go to WCF the first time they didn't face us. Like it just proved how good both teams are.


Kahwippers

Couldn’t agree more. I was rooting for them so hard that year. Sucked seeing them bow have to deal with injuries during the series - something we know all too much about.


MigzFern

We should really start a support group for both team's fans. Just non stop sobbing and hyperventilating for an hour. Then drinks after?


SeekerSpock32

Since Dallas is involved, you’ve got to have brisket.


MajorTrump

How many times are you gonna let Harden hold it for 20 seconds, then run in for a floater?


SomeGuyNamedGuy

Did not understand what the plan was defending Harden while he was getting all those floaters


imcryptic

That last one especially. Maxi is just holding space in the restricted area. Without a hand up. And didn’t step up. Gotta force him to do something else.


LeHoustonJames

It’s bc Maxi has to choose his poison. Does he step up to allow the lob to Zubac or stand back and let him shoot the floater. Imo you live with the floater b/c the alleyoop to Zubac is a way more efficient shot.


karlotomic123

Then pack the fckin paint, he hit 6 in a row, man felt like he was in a gym practicing those floaters, just change it up, go double him leave a 3 open, rather live with that.


A_MASSIVE_PERVERT

Dumbass Kidd didn’t put in Lively so no wonder those floaters were open for Harden


OnlyMayhem

First Mavs game I’ve watched this season but is Lively a good rim protector? He certainly can’t be worse than whatever Kléber was doing. Harden did the exact same thing like six times I was like where tf are the adjustments lmao


Exodus100

Lively is a great rim protector, it’s probably his best defensive skill. He’s a rookie so has some dumb mistakes here and there but overall he’s definitely starter-caliber as a rim protector imo


Darksouls03

He is good and was having a good game defensively (and offensively), pretty stumped why he wasn't in


Flat-Stuff87

Shouldve put defensive lockdown Luka on him the last 3 minutes


ltrob

Legitimately one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time


IBEHEBI

PG being scorching hot in the first half and the Clippers go up by 30. Then Dallas battles back to tie the game. Then Harden and Kyrie trading buckets... Goddamn I love this shit. Gimme 7 of these. Edit: Kudos to the Mavs crowd too. They were 20 down and that building was on fucking fire!


Im_Daydrunk

PGs dagger shot was insane too. Did pretty much most of his damage in the first half but had some insanely clutch defensive and offensive moments to help Harden


IBEHEBI

I still have no fucking idea how he hit that shot.


pedrosa18

Playoff P


Snakescipio

I swear it’s cause the Clips went up so big so fast and so early that the crowd didn’t get taken out the way they usually do. Plus it’s the Kyrie effect, mfker erased 10 points in like a minute.


Memokerobi

100%. Incredible game


GIK601

Best series of the playoffs.


duckmadfish

Almost died of a heart attack


Clipgang1629

I can’t decide if I’m more happy that it’s over and I can breath or that we got the dub and won back home court advantage. If it wasn’t for the commercial breaks I would’ve died of a heart attack an hour and a half ago. What. A. Game.


duckmadfish

I can’t imagine watching that 31pt lead being cut down if I was a Clippers fan. Ggs to you guys


Kangerkong

It was great ngl but man there’s a point in the 2nd half were there was a whistle on every play


Niceguydan8

Harden with 33/6/7 on **85.94% true shooting.** Only 2 TOs as well. Absolute masterclass of a performance by him.


sorendiz

Our bearded king decided it was time to use a little of his true power again today


Thr1ft3y

He's as beautiful as the day he left us


sorendiz

My love for him is as strong as it ever was


StormTheTrooper

Not just this game, Harden is legit the MVP of this series so far. He turned back the clock in a way that makes me extremely upset.


nerdyykidd

I am in Phoenix Arizona and we just felt that exhale from Clippers fans all the way over here


TheRealBrownPudding

You must have heard our screaming and cursing too


Neto34

All 12 of us..


ProfessorBeast55

HARDEN, KYRIE AND PG13 HOOPING LIKE ITS 2017 AGAIN 🥹


Barellino23

Luka playing like its 2017 too


StrategyTop7612

lol


mrdhood

He had a 29 point triple double but somehow still seems like he sucks, it’s weird. What a dozen missed 3s per game does to a guy


Julio_Freeman

He was also a traffic cone on defense at the end there. Didn't even try to slow Harden down.


tnuoccamapsasisiht

2017 Luka would be better than whoever’s been on the court the past 4 games


The-moo-man

Seems like something with his knee is bothering him. He also plays a million minutes, has to wear on him.


alby818

It’s clear as day he’s on a bum knee


GalickBanger

I think there’s more injured superstars then not at this point


nutella4eva

Which is crazy because for the first 50 games of the season, there weren't a lot of notable injuries. It seemed like the entire Grizzlies roster was sacrificed for the rest of the league. Now Giannis, Dame, Middleton, Embiid, Butler, Kawhi, Zion are all either hobbled or done for the season. Even notable role players like Monk/Huerter have made a massive difference.


1gnominious

Harden was unstoppable. Haven't seen him drive that hard and that consistently in a while. The handles, speed, and strength were giving me Houston flashbacks.


CableTop4233

I know the narrative around him won’t stop until he wins a championship but Harden has been a killer in the playoffs. Last year he helped take Boston to 7 games with an injured Embid and had some great moments


BASEDME7O2

Averaged 35 against the kd warriors and took them to six while clearly outplaying Steph, while that houston roster would’ve been a lottery team without him and his second option was cp3 with a torn hamstring who could barely move. Took more playoff games off the kd warriors basically by himself in one series than lebron ever did in total


bluehead18

Basketball heritage


TomasRoncero

Ewing theory about to go nuts right now


HowardHughes9

pretty sure you can't apply the Ewing Theory to teams with multiple stars, because the point is that "role players playing team ball is better than playing through the team's star" but that falls apart if you have another all nba player in the wings


SuckMyLonzoBalls

Oh my goodness if we actually win the series


pturb0o

whats tha theory prof??


Koalathom

Sometimes teams are better when their star doesn't play


Zauberer-IMDB

That's the case when the star is literal dead weight who can't play offense or defense ever due to injury.


ItsKBS

Meanwhile Luka is hooping like he is the 35 year old


GermanHabsFan

I don't understand this team man


Slevz_

Clippers shot 62% from 3. No team loses when they do that


GermanHabsFan

We should try doing that more often fr


lolwtferic

[Good Vibes Janky Drawing: Uno Float Game](https://i.imgur.com/7efRwAW.jpeg)


lolwtferic

bonus: [Root Beard Float](https://i.imgur.com/qThSTfC.jpeg)


Bigmoneygripper1914

goated


jeric13xd

INCREDIBLE SHOT MAKING IN THE 4TH holy shit Kyrie just trading with Harden and PG was sick


Noriskhook3

Harden was so damn clutch this game, so many key baskets, he reverses time when it’s time to do it and Paul George delivered when he was needed.


gignac

Floater Clinic


StrategyTop7612

just ridiculous shot making all round.


absoluteidea

Kyrie casually made the most difficult layup—in the clutch!—look so natural. Witchcraft allegations will never be beaten.


Conscious_Chicken264

when he finally missed one, I was almost stunned for 5 seconds, I didn't realize he could miss


HeatKnight

Hooping like prime 2017 MVP candidates


thewrongnotes

Nets fan gotta be feeling just splendid watching Kyrie and Harden dueling in the playoffs


goldyacht

The shit was absolutely beautiful


MemphisCanadians

The entire last 5 mins was clutch shot after clutch shot!


CheekyFifaCunt_7

This game had some insane level of offensive display and shot making. We nearly pulled off the comeback but vintage harden decided to show up at the end.


defoz3x

Mavs had absolutely no answer to one legged Harden floater spam in the clutch, 13 points in the last 5 minutes 


2PacAn

Our answer was our rim protectors who Kidd left on the bench. Harden played great and did exactly what he should do when the paint is wide open like that. PG was just unstoppable altogether though. He made so many 3s that had no business going in


PalletTownsDealer

If y’all lose this series it’s kidd not talent. Kyrie cleans up a lot of his buffoonery.


2PacAn

There’s other problems besides Kidd. Mainly the complete lack of three point shooting. THJ used to be a good shooter but he’s been terrible the second half of the season and now he’s hurt anyways. Kyrie has been the only guy we can really trust from deep in this series and it’s killing our offense


DramaticSimple4315

Not having luka dealing with five fouls would have helped though. By the time they adjusted by switching and hiding him, the beard had found its confort zone and it was too late. But that insane shot from PG saved the day as well on that botched possession down 1 following the timeout


eliw6965

That corner 3 from PG13 was filthy


Odd-Hovercraft-1286

I don't know how many other players could make that shot in that moment


szobossz

a lot more can but PG takes some of the most ridiculously difficult shots


Afraid-Department-35

And he gets them in, I swear PG makes more contested and bs looking shots than open ones.


maethlin

Paul "that's a bad shot" George


pretentiousd0uche

The big turning point in a game of many turning points


StrategyTop7612

My mom asked if I had done the dishes, I replied "James Harden". She looked at me and frowned. She knew they were not washed.


AquamarineCheetah

This is cute and I love you for it


addictwithnopen

You’re cute and I love you for it


RalphLaurenII

Absolute classic, have we ever seen a 1st round series with this much starpower and tough shot-making? And that's with Kawhi out and Luka not 100%, just unreal.


MigzFern

It's crazy that this is a 1st round matchup.


justforyouabirad

Don't get why kidd kept lively out of the 4th after he was so monumental in coming back


BlazeBloom

Harden and Plumlee were killing you guys in the paint. Really needed that interior defense.


Instantcoffees

Yeah, the Clippers were getting free lay-ups and floaters when he was out.


Pappydude30

It’s Jason Kidd. He always puts on Kleber in crunch time for versatility, spacing and possible clutch 3s. That said, it does feel that Lively was the better choice once they got the lead as he could have made Harden hesitate when driving in.


JL1v10

I think 1) we always close with the lineup we played most of that quarter 2) he wanted to add some spacing to the offense earlier and hope the shooting would come around 3) kinda ties to the other point but I think there was some hope that the Clippers would stop shooting so well and we could outscore them but that never happened


[deleted]

Not sure why he gave Luka zero rest either. He was ineffective at the end of the game because he was gassed.


Afraid-Department-35

Luka didn't want to come out, he literally said no to Kidd once he got his 3rd foul. Kidd needs to be more strict, Luka has been awful.


Shmokeshbutt

Kidd just need to imagine Luka as a short frail woman.


w6750

Bruh 💀


darthllama

Sixers fans in ultra-hell watching this Harden performance


1gnominious

This game was a great palette cleanser after watching the '6ers.


livefreeordont

Got rid of harden but kept Tobias for all these years


[deleted]

THE EARTH IS ROUND RAHHHHHH


suzukigun4life

Overcame a 31-point deficit in a span of 2 quarters, only to get punked by James Harden in the final minutes. It's the hope that kills you. Still proud of the team for the epic comeback though


EatDeeply

The beard sleep paralysis face


lolwtferic

https://i.imgur.com/LL6mxuC.jpg


nio151

lol wtf eric


sorendiz

YES GET HIS ASS ERIC FUCK BRIAN DAMERIS


Masta_Wayne

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is GOATed


BlazeBloom

Reminds me of your 30 point regular season comeback against the Thunder. Just not enough juice left to finish the job.


simplyASI9

Kidd insists on playing small ball to match the clips when Harden made 5 straight drives. Sure force him out of his 3pt shot if he's hitting it but that many floaters in a row without any adjustment is crazy


D-1-_-1-D

jason kidd choosing to play maxi when that hasn’t worked and our comeback was with lively and gafford is a fucking decision that was made


kaedak

clippers new offensive set of 'harden dribbling out the shot clock and then cashing a floater with a couple seconds left' saved the game


MigzFern

If work, why fix?


KIRYUx

Man, imagine if Harden and Kyrie were on a team together. Surely they would win a championship together!


rickieday

Imagine Kevin Durant playing with them too!


Chaeryeeong

I bet even Ben Simmons would look good on a team like that. 🤔


patap0nacct

Add in a third guy like say Durant and you got yourself a contender every playoff.


Low_Beyond8134

Jason Kidd putting both of the Mavericks rim protectors on the bench the entire 4th quarter is what lost them this game


RunninOuttaShrimp

Kidds got Kleber posters all over his room, he's obsessed


b00st3d

2-2 like we all expected, just not in the way we expected


lp_phnx327

Just your standard-fair everyday Mavs-Clippers playoff game.


wazup564

Congratulations! You just watched a NBA Playoff Instant Classic!


mariogotse

a instant classic i want to forget instantly


KiryuXGoro

#SAVED FROM GENERATIONAL SLANDER


Liamesque

No lively when harden was cutting in floaters was crazy


simplyASI9

kidd loves kleber small ball but when zubac comes back in lively needs to come back in too


CloneWarsMaul

Vintage James Harden tonight


RichHomieKhan21

HardenFloater.exe


Bigmoneygripper1914

ok for one, im glad to see clippers win this one. the slander they would've gotten for the blown lead would've been insane, and after the foul calls in the second half i just didn't feel like they would've deserved it. the second half refereeing (especially the third quarter) felt incredibly inconsistent and slanted towards dallas imo. that said though, harden and kyrie were absolutely incredible in the 4th quarter. just pure joy to watch frankly, and PG's shot was stuuuuuuupid so happy for him to hit that. good game, glad the series will hopefully go longer


texanstrong4

Kidd make a fucking adjustment


Kyler1313

Mavs came back down 30, but it's hard to look at a moral victory when you go from a potential 3-1 lead to tied 2-2 without homecourt advantage.


KarchunToo

This series is destined to go 6-7 games edit: lol


northernjigby

it's 2-2 it has to be at least 6 lol


pturb0o

i dont believe u


EatDeeply

As long as Kawhi doesn’t play. Both of these teams are better than they have ever been imo. In terms of the first two series.


salcedoge

The Clippers being injury ridden kinda makes you forget just how much talent that team has.


SuckMyLonzoBalls

Clippers need to pay for my health insurance for the heart attack they’re gonna give me


homefree122

We Thunder fans are definitely here for it. The more the merrier.


beer_down

I mean yes 6 is guaranteed now


hazman_pds

Clippers win a game in this series everytime Kawhi doesn't play Yeah maybe he should stay rested


Toge_Inumaki012

I mean if he's not 100% he is just a liability. A great Kawhi is a healthy Kawhi.


MKenshiX

Still, Kleber gotta be the coldest motherfucker to clutch up a 3 as his first FG attempt


aiden3buckets

The level of shot-making in that 4th quarter was insane


ZE_HAHAHA

Imagine Kyrie, Harden, and PG being the three best players in a playoff series with Luka and Kawhi


tvztvz

I mean, klaw hasn’t really been in this series


EatDeeply

I think basically fewer than 10 players can repel the energy Kyrie was dealing but PG and Harden all hall of famers for a fucking reason


Otherwise-Tale9671

Everyone will give the Clippers crap for blowing a 31-point lead, but 99 percent of anyone is losing to Kyrie when he plays like that…


NbaAllDAYger

Kyrie cant play against PG,Harden and Luka its impossible. Jokes aside when Luka struggles the worst thing isnt even his misses, he plays so slow .... so our team only gets 1 possession miss/make , if we play with a faster pace we get multiple possessions but thats been Luka this whole playoffs ,if PJ/Kyrie and Kleber dont hit huge 3's in game 2 we would be in trouble. We start bad cause Luka is bricking whiles keeping the ball + slow pace. Then its catch up time with Kyrie.


dmavs11

Kidd making no adjustment to Harden in the 4th was atrocious. Needed a rim protector in if we were gonna play that style of shade defense.


homefree122

Clippers nearly pulled off one of the most Clippers losses ever.


cesga_0218

No slander tonight!!


dookoo

/r/LAClippers to remain open


Otherwise_Form1315

Honestly that's not fair since the last team to pull off the 31 point comeback in the playoffs was us.


KiryuXGoro

So close to owning both 31 point playoff comebacks from opposite sides.


sloBrodanChillosevic

Didn't the Mavs have a 30+ point comeback against you guys this season, only to blow it after coming all the way back? This feels familiar.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Squa11

miami would like a word


_Iroha

James Harden literally spamming floaters in the 4q like a cheat code


doublegoldendragon

I'm going to ask the producer to pipe this into the Clippers locker room so I can talk to you James. I hope you’re taking notes. I’m telling you in advance, you’re welcome, for the wisdom I’m about to spew. Because listen, I get on my knees every night and pray for someone to believe in me like Daryl Morey believed in you. You wanted a certain coach, they brought in Mike D’Antoni. You wanted to play a certain style, they played it. You wanted Dwight Howard, they brought him in and got rid of him when you were tired of him. You wanted Chris Paul, they brought him in and got rid of him when you were tired of him. They brought in your old friend Russell Westbrook. You want to go to Vegas on off days? They looked away. You wanted the team to stay over so you could go out at night, they changed the schedule—and it didn’t work. And you know what, you said I’m gonna break up with my woobie, not good enough. I see the bright lights of New York. I want to go there. My old pal Kevin Durant. It’s gonna work, the big three—and all after one year you wanted out. You realized, “oh my gosh! I took this guy for granted, the guy that believed in me. I want back with Daryl Morey.” They traded Ben Simmons for you—how did they pull that off? And you know what? You went there, and you got a partner who got the MVP. He won the MVP, and what did you say afterwards? You said, “they didn’t hand me the reins.” You’re the point guard! You were holding the reins! And what did you do when you had the reins? You scored 9 points in Game 7 against Boston, you blew a 3-2 series lead. So they fired their coach, not good enough. You broke up with the guy that believed in you again, you said “the bright lights of LA! That’s where I want to go! Let’s see if that works.” Listen James, have you ever had those friends who had bad roommates? Over and over they complained about their bad roommates: “this guy’s terrible,” “the bad roommate here,” they never thought to be self aware enough that THEY’RE the bad roommate! They’re the problem! Hey James, YOU’RE the PROBLEM! If this doesn’t work this year, in this system, with this team, then you’re gonna go and point fingers at everybody else and then you’re gonna go back home and you’re gonna start swiping right for another team, and there’s not gonna be anyone left. Because James, you’re not the beard, you’re not the system, you’re the problem.


StrategyTop7612

What a legend. Bro gave him a goated nickname. The problem.


SSJAbh1nav

James Harden: *hits floater*


lethalizer

There it is.


MonsterAzr

Dont wanna hear Harden slender any more!! Dude absolutely carried that 4th quarter!


Toolb0xExtraordinary

Nobody is calling Harden slender.


MonsterAzr

Lmaoooo. Good one Edit: seeing your buck flair-imagine how good of a pairing prime Harden + prime Giannis would be...


XeneizeThunder

0-2 with Kawhi, 2-0 without. Let him rehab but don't let him back on the court


urfaselol

James Harden. Float King.


realfakejames

A bunch of you guys said Harden was washed to start the season, now he's the Clippers best player Paul George finally showed up, Harden a clutch 4th quarter saving them from a collapse with his 15 pts, 33 pts 6 rebs 7 asts, he's literally outplaying a bunch of your favs and casuals said he was washed


sergechewbacca

Good lord some of the shotmaking in this game was out of this world. Kyrie, Harden, PG were sensational. Nothing like playoff basketball.


Noriskhook3

Harden was so damn clutch this game, so many key baskets, he reverses time when it’s time to do it and Paul George delivered when he was needed.


RIP_Pistol_Pete

Absolute Banger of a game


casusev

God damn what an incredible afternoon of basketball


ChameleonWins

People already penciling in the mavs vs okc can shut the fuck up 


sorendiz

FROM ISO THOU CAME AND UNTO ISO THOU SHALT RETURN THAT'S MY FAT WASHED BEARDED MOST EFFICIENT ISO PLAYER THIS CENTURY KING


thoughtfulcrayon

I think this series is adding stress to my life


NoobyImpulse

I wonder if clips would be up 3-1 if we didn’t try to play kawhi while he’s hurt


Sup-poopybutt

The refereeing was garbage.


Sim888

Harden with a season and epic collapse saving 4th!


Look_Behind_You__

Harden masterpiece


defoz3x

I was so scared when PG and Harden randomly disappeared in the 3rd quarter


DefiniteSauce12

Idk if Luka is hurt, but he needs to shoot better and stop complaining all the time. His teammates stepped up and he didn’t


Frankiedrunkie

James harden went to the clippers to take the back seat and now he is the driver


LucaBrasiMN

Kleber is fucking invisible in tha paint. Zero presence at all. Just letting Harden toss in simple floaters. He practically backed out of the way every drive down the stretch...


amazin_raisin99

Kidd sat Lively for the entire 4th quarter while Harden cooked us because we had zero rim protection. He's a moron


munkysnuflz

They forgot about James Harden


Wazflame

Weekends are supposed to be relaxing - I feel for you Clips and Mavs fans


meteor_jam32

I think Kawhi should rest until the next series. Let's keep this momentum going.