National Basketball Association

LA Clippers finally change the narrative with Game 6 comeback vs. Jazz

Updated Jun. 19, 2021 1:05 p.m. ET

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

It was a stunning amount of firsts.

For the first time in the LA Clippers' 50-year franchise history, they advanced to the Western Conference finals.

For the first time in NBA history, a team overcame two 0-2 deficits in one postseason.

For the first time in 15 months, there was a full capacity crowd at Staples Center to witness it.

And the player who blew this game open for the Clippers was Terance Mann, who had the first 30-point game of his career.

With a 131-119 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday in Game 6, the Clippers finally broke the so-called curse that has plagued them for a half-century, and they did it in the most dramatic way possible, smashing through decades of ridicule and laughter as the stepchild of a city owned by the Lakers, the darlings of the league who are tied with the Boston Celtics for the most championships (17) in NBA history.

The Clippers had finally arrived.

And in typical L.A. fashion, they did it with enough drama to fill a Hollywood screen.

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This team was written off the moment superstar Kawhi Leonard suffered a knee injury in Game 4 of the second-round playoff series against the Jazz. But the Clippers somehow went on to win their next two games without him.

This team was written off the moment it fell into a 25-point hole on Friday against the Jazz, with Jordan Clarkson single-handedly outscoring LA 21-19 in the second quarter.

But the Clippers pulled off the improbable behind an unknown, 24-year-old Mann, who had a career-high 39 points Friday, including making seven of his 10 shots from beyond the arc.

Mann was The Man, deserving all of the cheesiest puns in the world.

He scored 20 points in the third quarter, the most any Clipper has scored in a single quarter in the franchise's postseason history. On Mann's shoulders, the Clippers stormed their way back into the game, outscoring the Jazz 41-22 in the period.

Before Friday, Mann had four 20-point performances in his two-season career.

"When you trust in your work, you trust in yourself, you're not surprised when any of this happens," said Mann, the only person not floored by his performance in Game 6.

The Clippers have had such an ugly history. There were so many disappointments, so many embarrassments.

They had a racist owner in Donald Sterling. They had a team filled with superstars in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan — and it perpetually underperformed. Last season, after Leonard chose LA in free agency, teaming up with Paul George, the Clippers were finally supposed to shatter the ceiling, but instead they had one of their most epic collapses, blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round.

The Clippers repeatedly swore things would be different this time around. They said their chemistry was better. They claimed that they believed in themselves.

Then they opened their first-round playoff series against the Mavericks with an 0-2 thud. Typical.

But this time, they clawed their way out with a hard-fought, seven-game series.

Then they fell into the same hole in the second round against the Jazz, the team with the top record in the league. Surely, the Clippers were really doomed this time.

But instead, they did something no team had ever done, with their second straight recovery from 0-2. It was beautiful to witness. It was long overdue.

On Friday, there was a sold-out crowd of 17,105 at Staples Center for the first time since March 2020, and the fans roared, a spectacular scene in an arena that for months was partially filled with ridiculous cardboard cutouts of fans because of statewide COVID-19 regulations.

"They deserve it," said Patrick Beverley, who had 12 points. "The city deserves it."

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As the Clippers pulled off the improbable, owner Steve Ballmer, who is famously animated, could hardly contain his excitement. He repeatedly waved his arms in the air and slammed his feet against the floor. As the seconds ticked off the clock late in the game, he put his hands over his head.

He was stunned, alongside every other basketball fan in this country.

The Clippers really did it.

It was a complete team effort, with five Clippers scoring in double figures, including George (28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists), Reggie Jackson (27 points and 10 assists) and Nicolas Batum (16 points).

The Clippers will soon be one of only four teams remaining, potentially eight games away from a championship. To add to the drama, in the conference finals they'll face the Phoenix Suns, whose star player, Chris Paul, is widely considered one of the greatest Clippers of all time.

It's all incredibly exciting for an organization that has slogged its way through the mud its entire existence.

"They have been starving, starved for success," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "They have had a lot of good teams and just caught a lot of bad breaks."

Finally, that changed.

For the first time ever, the Clippers are the toast of the town.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She has previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.