Most around the NBA were already asleep when the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off the biggest comeback in playoff history Monday night against the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
Up 31 about midway through the third quarter, Golden State let the upstart Clippers back in the game. It culminated in one of the most-shocking turn of events that we’ve seen in recent NBA postseason history.
In talking about Golden State’s meltdown, Boston Celtics star Al Horford had a rather poignant take.
“Well, if that happens to them. You know, they’re the back-to-back champs. If it happens to them, anything can happen,” Horford said during practice on Tuesday, via Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The magnitude of Monday night’s events inside Oracle Arena was felt around the entire Association the next day. As much as the Clippers should get credit for their comeback, it’s also about favored teams keeping their heads on a swivel.
Taking on a lesser Indiana Pacers squad without Victor Oladipo, Horford and his Celtics know this full well.
“I think that everyone in the league felt that, and I felt it specifically. I was shocked,” the former All-Star said. “I went to bed and I think Golden State was up 15 or 20. I was like, yeah, they got this. And I didn’t even check anything in the morning. Then I was talking to my mom, and she was like, ‘Oh, the Clippers won.’ I was like, ‘No. No way.’ I actually had to go and look at it.”
As we saw with both the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers dropping the first games of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against lesser competition, the early stages of this year’s NBA Playoffs has proven that anything can happen.
Boston is set to take on Indiana at home Wednesday night. A win there would help the team take a stranglehold on the series. Then again, Indiana could join the Clippers in making this a series.