Deandre Jordan

Here's one for you: What would you do? I've grown to like the Clippers, love what Chris Paul has brought to them and appreciate what Blake Griffin has to offer. It's a fun group, Randy Foye and Caron Butler solid as individuals and Eric Bledsoe and Nick Young out of control but always in the cause of making something happen. Mo Williams is sour, but there's always one, or two, if you want to count Kenyon Martin . But who needs them if DeAndre Jordan is in the room?

The Clippers didn't go easily when they could have, when many thought they would have. They played Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs right up to the final few seconds of the game Sunday night. Still, in the end, the Clippers dropped a 102-99 decision to the Spurs at Staples Center, getting swept out of the playoffs. Chris Paul had been the Clippers' savior all season, their closer. But he couldn't save the day this time, missing two shots late when the game hung in the balance.

It was a perfect test for a young point guard who had never been to the playoffs.  The media was out in full force, the players were chippy and the crowd may have reached unsafe decibel levels as the Lakers and Clippers battled for superiority in the Western Conference standings and bragging rights in the city.   When Ramon Sessions found himself in a critical position late in the game, he knew he had found the moment to show his teammates that he belongs.   The Lakers had blown a 15-point lead and were up by only two points at 106-104 with less than a minute remaining.

Here's one for you: What would you do? I've grown to like the Clippers, love what Chris Paul has brought to them and appreciate what Blake Griffin has to offer. It's a fun group, Randy Foye and Caron Butler solid as individuals and Eric Bledsoe and Nick Young out of control but always in the cause of making something happen. Mo Williams is sour, but there's always one, or two, if you want to count Kenyon Martin . But who needs them if DeAndre Jordan is in the room?

At some point, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro hopes, starting center DeAndre Jordan will become a factor in the first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first three games, that hasn't been the case. "It's really D.J. gets the first look because he's the starter," Del Negro said. "And then as the game goes on, the matchups and who is playing well and the rhythm of the game, sometimes that dictates a lot of that. " That means that Reggie Evans will get more playing time at center.

We're talking history here. The kind of thing you might never see again in your lifetime. None of the Clippers had been witness to such an amazing accomplishment before. There was a buzz throughout the locker room after having DeAndre Jordan take their breath away. Just think if you had the chance to be there to watch Babe Ruth point to center field in Wrigley Field and watch him hit the next pitch there for a home run. What a thrill it would have been to be sitting ringside when Cassius Clay whipped Sonny Liston , or sitting in the stands on a night when Sandy Koufax was perfect.

SAN ANTONIO - He might be getting older, but Spurs power forward Tim Duncan does not appear to have lost a step. For the second straight game, Duncan schooled the younger Clippers defenders in footwork and fundamentals, and helped lead his Spurs to a 2-0 series advantage with a win in San Antonio on Thursday night. The two-time NBA most valuable player scored 18 points on nine-for-14 shooting to help San Antonio cruise to a 105-88 victory. The win takes the 36-year-old yet another step closer to his fifth NBA title.

Maybe it's because he has four youngsters ? all boys ? that Mo Williams has made a nearly seamless transition, crossing over from glory days and despair in Cleveland straight into the cartoon-watching, video game-playing Clippers' locker room. The Clippers are 4-1 since Williams stepped on the court, making his debut in Sacramento on Feb. 28. That doesn't tell the whole story: Two victories, and most of the third one, were without injured shooting guard Eric Gordon. Not only have the Clippers struggled in a major way whenever Gordon has been absent in the last two seasons, they were even more confounded on the road this season.

The Lakers and Clippers will play Wednesday in their third and final regular-season game. Andrew Bynum said it feels as though it's a playoff game. Said Kobe Bryant: "As far as the standings go, you know, it's a big game. " The Lakers have a slim 1½-game lead over the Clippers for third place in the Western Conference. The winner of the game could help determine the Pacific Division champion and playoff seeding in the West.

SAN ANTONIO — Playing in only his eighth playoff game, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had his first shot blocked Tuesday by veteran power forward Tim Duncan. Undeterred, Jordan responded by snatching the offensive rebound and slamming home a dunk that no one, including Duncan, could defend. It's not unusual to see Jordan throw down thunderous slams as a part of the Clippers' "Lob City. " But Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, the dunk was the start to an unusually productive quarter for Jordan that his team can only hope signals the beginning of a breakout series.

SAN ANTONIO - He might be getting older, but Spurs power forward Tim Duncan does not appear to have lost a step. For the second straight game, Duncan schooled the younger Clippers defenders in footwork and fundamentals, and helped lead his Spurs to a 2-0 series advantage with a win in San Antonio on Thursday night. The two-time NBA most valuable player scored 18 points on nine-for-14 shooting to help San Antonio cruise to a 105-88 victory. The win takes the 36-year-old yet another step closer to his fifth NBA title.

SAN ANTONIO — Playing in only his eighth playoff game, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had his first shot blocked Tuesday by veteran power forward Tim Duncan. Undeterred, Jordan responded by snatching the offensive rebound and slamming home a dunk that no one, including Duncan, could defend. It's not unusual to see Jordan throw down thunderous slams as a part of the Clippers' "Lob City. " But Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, the dunk was the start to an unusually productive quarter for Jordan that his team can only hope signals the beginning of a breakout series.

At least Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is fully aware that he has not performed at a level in the NBA first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies that's acceptable. And it all really showed in Game 5, when Jordan had zero rebounds in 18 minutes, 38 seconds. Zero! When the Clippers matched the four-year, $42.8-million offer sheet Jordan got from the Golden State Warriors in December, more was expected of him. "I'm just not playing well," Jordan said.

It wasn't the best news, but it wasn't the worst news either. The Clippers announced Thursday afternoon that Blake Griffin and Chris Paul will be game-time decisions for Friday's Game 6 of the NBA first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies because of their injuries. Griffin had an MRI exam on his sprained left knee Thursday that the Clippers said revealed no structural damage. The All-Star power forward was injured during the third quarter of Game 5 Wednesday night in Memphis.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin come off the bench against the Memphis Grizzlies, the tone for the Clippers seems to change for the better. Evans and Martin play a more physical style of defense than the Clippers' starting frontcourt players, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin . "Reggie and Kenyon have experience, and they are physical guys," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "They feed off each other very well. They talk on defense.

On the front line, Memphis offers a duo that few can match, the Clippers included. But for a good chunk of their Western Conference first-round playoff series, including Monday night's Game 4 at Staples Center, the Clippers have outmatched the Grizzlies in that area, bullying Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol into irrelevance. The Clippers took a 3-1 series lead with a 101-97 overtime win Monday, and Gasol and Randolph, who combined to average 26.2 points and 16.9 rebounds during the regular season, watched most of it from the bench, each saddled with foul trouble.

Sure, I teased him. Gave the super crummy free-throw shooter the whole Page 2 treatment. It was his time. I know. He's still so raw, so young and I ordinarily wouldn't waste time on someone who owns only one car. But DeAndre Jordan has had time to settle in, showing enough that the Golden State Warriors tried to swipe him from the Clippers, showing enough that Donald Sterling paid more than $40 million to hang onto him. ...

It takes a village to raise a free-throw shooting percentage. Or something like that. But advice and affirmation from learned elders and helpful teammates can only go so far when you are flirting with sub Shaq-like numbers. The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan , mindful of the grim 38.5 free-throw shooting percentage in his rookie season, got his 6-foot-11 self into the gym in the summer. And stayed in the gym. "I'm working on my free throws. A lot, a lot," Jordan said.

At some point, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro hopes, starting center DeAndre Jordan will become a factor in the first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first three games, that hasn't been the case. "It's really D.J. gets the first look because he's the starter," Del Negro said. "And then as the game goes on, the matchups and who is playing well and the rhythm of the game, sometimes that dictates a lot of that. " That means that Reggie Evans will get more playing time at center.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Perhaps it's wishful thinking on the part of Clippers small forward Caron Butler , but he said, "If there's a will, there's a way," regarding the possibility of his playing before the first-round series with Memphis is over. Butler will see a hand specialist Thursday in Los Angeles after the Clippers return home to determine how bad his fractured left hand is. The diagnosis said Butler would be out four to six weeks with the injury, meaning the earliest he could return would be the end of May. Butler, who was replaced in the starting lineup for Game 2 Wednesday night by Bobby Simmons , was injured in the third quarter of Sunday's night's game when his hand got caught in Rudy Gay's jersey.