Washington Wizards Blow a 35-Point Lead Resulting in Los Angeles Clippers' Epic Comeback Win

By Jess Smith First Posted: Jan 26, 2022 04:26 AM EST

The Washington Wizards had blown a 35-point lead, losing to the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-115, on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.

Clippers stunned the Wizards in a 35-point turnaround shortly before halftime that equaled the second-largest NBA comeback in the play-by-play era since 1996-97.

When the buzzer sounded, the Clippers could not believe what they'd done despite missing Kawhi Leonard (right ACL rehab), Paul George (right elbow ligament tear), and starter Marcus Morris Sr. (personal reasons).

Point guard Reggie Jackson remarked that the Clippers were "exactly where we want to be."

Los Angeles Clippers' Epic Comeback

With one minute and 20 seconds left in the first half, the Los Angeles Clippers were behind 66-31.

Their 35-point rally tied the Sacramento Kings' win over the Chicago Bulls in 2009 and is second only to the Utah Jazz overcoming a 36-point deficit against the Denver Nuggets in 1996.

The LA Clippers are getting used to improbable comebacks. They were the first team in the last 25 years to win three games in a row after overcoming a 24 point deficit. And they've managed to do all in the month of January, with comeback victories over the Nuggets, the 76ers of Philadelphia, and now the Wizards.

After the win, Clippers guard Luke Kennard said, "Why do we keep doing that to ourselves? Man, that was crazy."

With the Clippers behind 66-36 at halftime, coach Ty Lue started the third quarter with several of his starters on the bench, using players like Kennard (25 points), Amir Coffey (29 points), and Terance Mann (16 points).

The Clippers started to really believe they could come back when they cut Tuesday's deficit down to 17 before the end of the third quarter.

"When I looked at the score in the first half, I thought we were down 19," said Lue. "And I looked again, I said, 'We're down 29!' I said, 'Oh s---!' It happened so quick."

With 2:46 remaining, the Clippers used an improbable 72-39 run to get within 105-103. However, it appeared as they had run out of steam.

Montrezl Harrell, a former Clipper sixth man of the year, made an impressive chase-down block on a Coffey fastbreak layup and Bradley Beal (23 points) hit a three on the other end. Washington increased its lead to eight points with 36.8 seconds left.

The Wizards had a seven-point lead with less than 20 seconds left, but Coffey drove in for a dunk. Kennard buried a 32-foot 3-pointer from near the logo with nine seconds left after Kyle Kuzma converted one of two free throws to trim the lead to 115-112.

With 1.9 seconds left, Kennard made a 27-foot 3 while Beal fouled him.

Los Angeles Clippers Lead the Game Only Once

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Clippers guard converted the four-point play to become the first player in the last 25 seasons with a game-winning four-point play in the final five seconds of a game.

It was the Clippers' first and only lead of the game. On the sidelines, even Nicolas Batum, a 13-year veteran, had both hands on his head in disbelief. The players of Wizards were taken aback by what they were seeing.

Beal has no words after the game besides "embarrassing." Washington (23-25) lost for the fourth match in a row, but this was the most difficult loss of the season to take.

In the final nine seconds of the game, Kennard scored seven points, sparking a Clipper celebration that concluded with Lue soaked in cold water in the visitor's locker room.

"It's probably the most insane game I've ever played," Coffey said, adding that January's been a wild month. "You never know when the game is over. Like tonight, anything can happen."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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