0% Interest
Don’t bother the Clippers with numbers at their biggest moment, especially this one: 81.7.
That’s the winning percentage in the seventh game of teams with home-court advantage in best-of-seven series, and that’s not the Clippers’ situation tonight against the Phoenix Suns in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals at US Airways Center.
The Suns have the crowd and history on their side, and supposedly exhausted point guard Steve Nash had a three-day break between games to re-energize, so that could be more bad news for the visitors.
All the Clippers have is one another, and the unwavering belief they’ll advance to a conference finals series for the first time in franchise history, as long as they play their game from start to finish.
Forget the numbers, the Clippers said, bring on the game.
“Statistics don’t define us,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We feel like how we play, how we defend, that’s going to be the key. I’ve said it all along: We don’t look at this series like there’s necessarily a home-court” advantage.
“I’m not somebody who makes things up or who’s unrealistic. I analyze things and I make decisions based on it, and I felt like this is a team that could get this far. I’m going to be disappointed if we don’t” win.
The Clippers are back in the desert because of their resiliency in Game 6, a 118-106 victory at Staples Center that evened the series, 3-3.
“The last game, you could see it in their faces, we didn’t have the necessary pop,” Phoenix Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We’re going to bring everything we have, and they’ll bring everything they have.”
The Clippers quickly rebounded from an emotionally and physically draining 125-118 loss in double overtime here in Game 5 -- they had a three-point lead with 3.6 seconds left in the first extra session -- and return with confidence to an arena in which they won Game 2.
“No doubt, we’re definitely confident,” power forward Elton Brand said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for Phoenix, but our guys all feel like we can go in there and get it done, as long as we execute our game plan.
“We’ve had some really close games there in this series, but we’ve only won one. Now, we need to get the last one.”
Of course, it won’t be easy.
The Buffalo Braves, who became the Clippers, lost to the Washington Bullets in Game 7 of the 1975 Eastern Conference semifinals, but tonight’s series finale is more uncharted territory for this group.
“One thing about my guys is that we’ve always responded to challenges,” point guard Sam Cassell said. “Yeah, the Clippers have never been here before, but we’ve been making our own history all year.”
Visiting teams have a 17-76 all-time record in Game 7s. The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, however, each won a decisive seventh game on the road in last season’s playoffs, and the Pistons accomplished the feat in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Dunleavy coached the Portland Trail Blazers when they lost to the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals at Staples Center. Cassell has played in six Game 7s among 114 postseason games in a 13-year career.
And that’s it for the Clippers’ experience in the ultimate showdown of team sports.
Again, though, they’re not interested in the numbers.
“I believe that it’s all about your confidence in yourself and your preparation,” Dunleavy said. “If you have confidence in yourself, and you have preparation, I don’t care how old you are, what you’ve been through or what you haven’t done.”
As if the Suns weren’t in a seemingly strong enough position, they also have a significant edge in experience.
The Suns routed the Lakers at US Airways Center in the seventh game of their first-round series to become the eighth team in league history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in winning a best-of-seven series.
Moreover, Phoenix could become the first NBA team to win at least two seven-game series in one postseason since the Dallas Mavericks in 2003. The Suns’ starting backcourt of Nash and Raja Bell were members of that team.
“Game 7s are like the NCAA tournament,” Nash said. “It’s like a ‘one-off,’ and you never know what’s going to happen.”
Nash has repeatedly acknowledged he’s tired. The two-time most valuable player is averaging 16.5 points and 10.8 assists in the series, but he’s shooting only 43.8% from the field and 21.7% from three-point range.
In the first round against the Lakers, Nash averaged 22.1 points and made 50.9% of his field-goal attempts and 36.1% of his three-point shots.
The Suns hope he benefits from the long layoff between Games 6 and 7.
“I’ve just been worn down a little bit, and got some things going on with my body,” Nash said. “Couple that with fatigue, and the Clippers playing me tough, and it’s been a tough series shooting-wise.
“But that’s what I love. I love a challenge. I love a chance to redeem myself.”
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