Amid all of the controversy, the Los Angeles Clippers got a crucial Game 5 win to take the series lead against the Golden State Warriors. Head coach Doc Rivers told the media that the chaos is over and the team is focused on the task at hand. He has been urging players to avoid reading the outside clutter and simply focus on basketball and nothing else. That appeared to work in Game 5 and now the team looks to eliminate the Warriors on the road.
The Clippers are on the brink of winning just their third playoff series since 1981. That was when Donald Sterling bought the franchise and is now official banned forever from the league after being handed the ruling from Adam Silver amid a racist rant that was made public over the weekend. Sterling has managed to take all of the focus away from actual basketball as he is now being told he must sell the team as part of the discipline action from the league. If three-fourths of the 29 NBA owners agree, Sterling will sell the Clippers and likely never make another move in basketball again.
The Clippers were not bothered by the press as they won 113-103 in Game 5, looking more relaxed than ever before. Chris Paul noted the team simply wanted to get back to playing regular basketball and put all of the drama behind him. He hopes they can do that one more time in order to get the series win over their in-state rivals.
The Warriors are ready to force this series to a Game 7. They have won 16 of their past 19 home games against the Clippers including the Sunday beatdown. Stephen Curry put up 17 points in the first quarter alone as the Clippers struggled in the game. However, he was shutdown in Game 5, attempting just 10 shots while recording eight turnovers.
Doc Rivers hopes the road game helps the Clippers escape the distractions of Sterling. The team would love nothing more than to keep winning and put this drama-filled time period behind them.
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