Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum ripped the Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers authored one of the greatest choke jobs in the history of basketball, blowing a 3-1 lead to Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and the Denver Nuggets despite holding a double-digit lead in each of the last three games. While every Western Conference rival sitting at home had to love LA’s struggles, the Portland Trail Blazers took some perverse glee in seeing the Clippers crash out.
After Clippers guard Patrick Beverley mocked Portland’s exit from the NBA bubble, Damian Lillard sarcastically welcomed Beverley along for the journey, as he hasn’t finalized his travel plans yet.
CJ McCollum poked fun at the Clippers voting against playing the rest of the season after the Jacob Blake shooting, saying it looked like they didn’t want to be there against Denver.
Damian Lillard loved watching the Clippers choke
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George might be two of the best players in the league, but they looked overwhelmed at times against Denver. The pair combined for just five points in the second half, with George himself dubiously recorded more turnovers than made field goals. Head coach Doc Rivers, already the first coach in NBA history with multiple blown 3-1 leads on his resume, added a third to his list.
While Murray and Jokic deserve all the credit in the world for their sweet shooting, this series is more about the Clippers totally gagging above all else. They’ll be back next year, but they have to endure a vicious roasting from the rest of the NBA community as a result of this shocking collapse.
Lillard and McCollum might’ve exited the postseason earlier, but they did so as an underdog against a vastly superior Lakers team while giving it all they had. LA’s crumbling, given their expectations, was historically disappointing, and the Blazers didn’t wait a second before starting to attack the Clippers for their ineptitude.