MEMPHIS, TN - APRIL 29: Vinny Del Negro the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers talks with DeAndre Jordan #6 in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Mephis Grizzlies in the 2012 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum on April 29, 2012 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Chris Paul begged coach Vinny Del Negro to put him back into the game for the fourth quarter and not give up despite being down 21 points.
The result was another Clippers comeback - one of the greatest in NBA playoff history.
Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left, and the Clippers rallied from a deficit that had been as much as 27 to stun the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 Sunday night in the opening game of their Western Conference series.
The key, Paul said, is to keep believing.
''Unfortunately, that's how we play,'' he said. ''We get killed in the first three quarters and in the fourth quarter we like to try to stand up for ourselves, and we found a way to win tonight.''
The Clippers tied the NBA playoff record for largest deficit overcome at the end of three quarters, when they trailed by 21.
''I don't think I've been part of a game like that ever,'' Clippers forward Blake Griffin said. ''It was unbelievable.''
Rudy Gay missed a 15-footer with 0.9 seconds left after the Grizzlies squandered a lead they held for the first 47 minutes, with a 24-point cushion disappearing in about nine minutes.
''Obviously, we gave it away, and everybody's kind of down,'' Gay said. ''We're still into it. It's a long series, and we're ready to fight. That's all this means. We've got to fight hard.''
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