The Oklahoma City Thunder and the LA Clippers are playing on the NBA playoffs schedule on Thursday night and the Game 6 matchup from the Staples Center in Los Angeles starts up at 10:30 pm ET on ESPN and comes with OKC up 3-2 in the series and the game is streaming live from WatchESPN and now Chris Paul and Blake Griffin must try and get things together to stay alive in the postseason.
The Game 5 matchup ended in some controversy with the out of bounds play and some tough foul calls, including one on a Russell Westbrook three from Chris Paul and that led Doc Rivers to lash out to officials after the game. The league looked at what happened and upheld the play and the Clippers now have to bounce back from that loss to stay alive in the playoffs and while Paul had some lapses at the end, he is ready to get things together on Thursday. The out of bounds play happened with 11.3 seconds left, but the Clippers blew it way before that, as they had a 13 point lead at one point in the fourth with four minutes left and then they allowed the Thunder comeback.
The Game 5 matchup was controversial and sloppy and while the Thunder ended up winning the game, the Clippers felt like they got robbed and that could be a motivating factor for the team in Game 6. The matchup at the Staples Center should have plenty of emotion and that could help push the team to a win and that would force a game 7 if they could tie the series 3-3 and that matchup would be back in Oklahoma City.
Apart from the out of bounds call, Paul let one player get away after he thought he was fouled and then he made the mistake of fouling Westbrook,. While Westbrook was bailed out after he tried to be the hero and win the game with a three. The Clippers need solid play from Blake Griffin and Chris Paul as well as their bench and there is no reason why they can't force a Game 7. The whole Donald Sterling situation has gotten a bit out of control and now things are starting to get a bit crazy and if the Clippers lose, things could get worse for the players, as at least now they have basketball to distract themselves with.
The Thunder got a great game from Westbrook in the last matchup and he had 38 points and six assists in the win and the team also got 10 rebounds from Durant. Those two players could close things out and that would mean the last two western conference champs would get the chance to play to see who faces the Miami Heat or Pacers in the finals. Blake Griffin led the way for the Clippers in the last game with 24 points and 17 rebounds and Paul added 14 assists, but it wasn't enough to get the team over the top and now we shall see if Game 7 ends up happening in this series.
Check here for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the LA Clippers live coverage from ESPN for the NBA playoffs.