Stand and Deliverance

This column had to be about Elton Brand. The season came down to this game, and this season was about Elton Brand.

Sure, Sam Cassell was the sensei, infusing the Clippers with his dozen years of NBA experience. But the Clippers would not have reached the next level had Brand not advanced his game.

We saw new things from Brand this season, especially his expanded shooting range and his ability to deliver clutch baskets. Thursday night, with the Clippers facing elimination by the Phoenix Suns in Game 6, Brand showed something else: a Terminator-like determination.

He backed his man down and scored. Turned and drove and scored. He pulled up for jumpers. You didn’t need Photoshop to put these images together for the big picture: Brand shot every time he faced single coverage, right down to the final Clippers basket in their 118-106 victory that forced Game 7 in Phoenix on Monday.

“I had that mentality,” Brand said. “I’m thinking that I’m ready to go. Whatever happens is going to happen, but I’m going to go down fighting, and fighting hard.”

The only thing going down was his shot through the net, 14 times in 21 tries, to give him a stat line of 30 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists.

At halftime he had 15 points and was leading the ... wait a minute. Not again. Why is it that something always happens to steal the attention from Brand? His 40 points in the series opener went to waste when he sat for a stretch in the fourth quarter and the game got away. He made the biggest shot of his career to give the Clippers a three-point lead late in Game 4, only to be upstaged by Cassell’s three-point basket the next time down the floor. He scored six points early in overtime to give the Clippers the edge in Game 5, then Raja Bell wiped it out with that three-pointer in the final three seconds and the Suns won it in double overtime.

Thursday night, who should pick this moment -- of all times -- to turn into George Gervin but Quinton Ross. He made eight of his first 10 shots, including a jumper just before the halftime buzzer, to score 16 points in the first two quarters.

But Brand wasn’t about to let anyone take this from him, as he demonstrated by snatching a rebound away from Ross. Nothing personal. But this one belonged to Brand. Not even 15 second-half points by Corey Maggette, who finished with 25, could deny Brand his moment.

Brand didn’t have the headline season. He wasn’t the guy who put up an 81-point night in Staples Center.

What he did that was so remarkable was to make such a leap this far into a good career -- something rarely seen seven years in.

Brand said the extra effort this season came from the uncertainty around the team. If it was going to be only him and Maggette, he’d better be ready or else it would be another year without a playoff appearance. It wasn’t only the two of them. The Clippers added Cuttino Mobley, then Cassell.

Still, Maggette called Brand “our MVP.”

The Clippers don’t try to conceal anything. Coach Mike Dunleavy didn’t reveal his starting lineup when he met with the media before Game 6, but he did share the offensive focal point.

“We know where our bread and butter is: Elton Brand,” Dunleavy said.

Has the phrase ever been more appropriate? Brand isn’t fresh-baked focaccia topped with sun-dried tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and a basil pesto spread. Bread, butter. Period.

It’s appropriate that Mike Tirico called this game for ESPN, because Tirico is like the Elton Brand of broadcasters. He doesn’t hit you with the hip catchphrase or the crazy inflection. He’s just there all the time, bringing you the relevant information, whether it’s basketball, football or golf.

That’s Elton Brand. He didn’t break off a single move that made you go “Oooh.” Not a single nominee for SportsCenter’s top 10 -- just short-range jumpers, rebounds and putbacks.

You have to appreciate the game to appreciate Brand.

Steve Nash has bookend most-valuable-player trophies, so who’s better qualified to discuss Brand’s value?

“I think that obviously, he’s a handful in the low post,” Nash said. “In this series he’s also blocked a lot of shots, he’s also had a ton of assists, coupled with the fact that he’s really been a terrific shotmaker, not just from the block.... He’s really been so efficient offensively that it puts a lot of pressure on our defense.”

Offensive efficiency is the key to this series for the Clippers. Phoenix feasts on bad shots and turnovers. Brand kept both to a minimum on a night when even Cassell rushed shots and got sloppy with the ball.

It was the greatest night of Brand’s greatest season.

And all it did was get them another game. For Brand, there’s always something more to do.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.