Clippers at Thunder
Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant was named MVP on Tuesday but he wasn’t close to being the best player on the court in Monday’s series-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Chris Paul had the best shooting game of his stellar career in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals and will try to stake the visiting Clippers to a 2-0 series lead in Wednesday’s contest. Paul made 8-of-9 3-point attempts and had 32 points and 10 assists in Los Angeles’ easy 122-105 victory.
Durant received 119 of the 125 first-place votes in balloting while claiming the first MVP award of his standout career. He scored 25 points in Game 1 but the Thunder were never in the game as the Clippers scored 39 first-quarter points and dominated the contest. “People want to split the road trip, but we can’t be satisfied with that,” Los Angeles guard Jamal Crawford told reporters. “We’re trying to get the next one as well.” The 17-point defeat was Oklahoma City’s worst home playoff loss since moving from Seattle.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: The opener could arguably be classified as the best all-around performance of Paul’s stellar career. He had surpassed his career best for 3-pointers (five) in a game when he had six at halftime and displayed no signs of the hamstring pain that hindered his performance in the latter portion of the first round against Golden State. He was 12-of-14 from the field and joked afterward that nobody should be surprised before reversing course. “That’s what I do,” Paul told reporters. “That’s a lie. I don’t know. It was just one of those nights. I promise you it has to be a career high. This one will definitely go down in the record books for me. Don’t count on it for Game 2, I can tell you that.”
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City didn’t look prepared for Game 1 and was exposed badly on the defensive end as Paul operated at will. The final score was only as close as 17 points because Los Angeles called off the assault, and Thunder coach Scott Brooks will be searching for a different approach in Game 2. “We have to do a better job and make some adjustments,” Brooks told reporters. “I believe in all of our guys – that’s the flexibility that we have as a group. “I’m confident in all of the guys and I’m confident that we’re all going to play much better.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Los Angeles set a franchise playoff record with 15 3-pointers in the opener.
2. Oklahoma City held a 47-31 rebounding advantage in Game 1.
3. The Clippers were 17-of-30 from the free-throw line in the opener as C DeAndre Jordan missed seven of his eight attempts.