Game 26 Recap: OT and a Blizzard

LA CLIPPERS 112 – PHILADELPHIA 76ers 107

CLIPPERS     30     30     18     21     13          112

76ers               18     29      26     26      8          107

After letting one get away yesterday in New York, the Clippers had to contend with letting that tough loss go as well as some very cold weather. The blizzard that is hammering the East Coast looked like it not only knocked out a lot of fans for this game (2,600 in attendance), it almost put the Clippers away in the 3rd quarter.

The Clippers again built a 13-point lead at half-time by playing well on both sides of the court. They were quicker to the ball and were able to hold the 76ers to one shot per possession. The Clippers were shooting well above 50% in that half and looked like they may have learned their lesson on how to punish a lesser team.

The Sixers were coming off a big win in Boston and got a huge boost off the bench from Marreese Speights. Speights scored 28 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Andre Iguodala was flirting with a triple double (20 points/9 rebounds/7 assists). But it was the shot that went in and was waived off by the referees that Iguodala will remember. With the score tied at 99 it looked like Iguodala hit the game winner but after review the refs waived off the basket and the game went into overtime.

The Clippers were finally able to put the game away in overtime outscoring the Sixers 13-8.

Former Clipper Elton Brand chipped in off the bench with 14 points. Allen Iverson was out with arthritis in his left knee which was drained twice this week. The Sixers did get Lou Williams back who was out for 12 games with a broken jaw.

The Clippers were led by Chris Kaman with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kaman teamed up well with Baron Davis who scored 20 points and handed out 13 assists. Eric Gordon had 17 points and Marcus Camby chipped in 11 points and pulled down 22 rebounds. Rasual Butler and Al Thorton both had solid games chipping in 18 and 12 points respectively.

So blowing another double-digit lead in the first half didn’t cost them this game but they better figure out how to put teams away at the start of the 3rd quarter.

One call went the Clippers way on a very cold night in Philly.

Tags: Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Eric Gordon, Lou Williams, Marcus Camby, Marreese Speights