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When LA Clippers All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard made a pull-up jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining Friday, it should have capped a 114-113 comeback road win over the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Eventually, it did.
But those 0.4 seconds turned out to be quite eventful, with the Clippers nearly blowing the game before the Pacers handed it right back to them.
Improbably, the Pacers got two chances in less than half a second to win the game. On the first one, point guard Andrew Nembhard attempted a pass in the form of a jump shot, hoping for a tip-in. The pass banked into the basket, resulting in an inbound turnover.
Since no time elapsed, the Pacers were able to foul Bennedict Mathurin before he could catch the inbound pass and run the remaining time off the clock. Mathurin, a career 84 percent free-throw shooter who was 12-of-13 from the line before this final trip, missed the first before intentionally missing the second. Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam secured the defensive rebound and called Indiana’s final timeout with 0.1 seconds remaining.
This time, when Nembhard attempted a similar pass from opposite the Indiana bench, official Jenna Schroeder whistled Clippers center Brook Lopez for a loose-ball foul that put Indiana center Jay Huff at the free-throw line for a chance to win the game. Huff, an 83.7 percent free-throw shooter this season, was long on both attempts, and the Clippers survived.
The win gives the Clippers a 38-36 record with eight games remaining, continuing a comeback from a 6-21 start to the season, while dropping Indiana’s record to 16-58. The game was a homecoming of sorts for Mathurin, who was traded from the Pacers, along with Isaiah Jackson and multiple draft picks, in exchange for center Ivica Zubac and power forward Kobe Brown. (Zubac did not play due to a fractured rib.)
The Clippers’ victory takes on added significance because one of the first-round picks they got from the Pacers in that deal will only convey this year if it falls between No. 5 and No. 9 in the draft lottery. If the pick falls in the top four, the Pacers will keep it and instead send LA an unprotected 2031 first-round selection. The Pacers have a league-low 16 wins with eight games to go, one fewer than the Wizards and Nets (17) and three fewer than the Kings (19).
Leonard finished with 28 points, his 50th straight game of scoring at least 20 points. The 34-year-old became the 10th player to post a 20-point streak that long and the first to have a streak that long after turning 30.
The Clippers were fortunate to be in a position for Leonard to steal a win. Indiana led 42-21 after the first quarter and built that lead to as many as 24 points in the first half. This was the first time the Clippers won a game this season after trailing by more than 20 points and the first time Indiana lost after leading by more than 20 points. The Clippers outscored the Pacers by 17 points in Leonard’s 35 minutes.