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Paul George nailed the go-ahead shot for the Clippers on Sunday. Then he blocked Darius Garland’s attempt to avoid OT.
The Clippers held on to win 120-118 and collected their 50th win over the Cavs. They’ve almost clinched home-court advantage for the first round, staying two games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks with four to play — and the Clippers own the tiebreaker after winning the season series.
It looked like it would be a miserable game for L.A. midway through the third quarter when Cleveland took a 26-point lead at the Crypto.com Arena. But George took over and scored 23 of his 39 points in the final quarter.
For Cleveland, the blown lead represents a blow to its own chances for home court in the first round. It’s now behind both the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, having lost the tiebreaker to both.
Cleveland had a shot at finishing as high as second in the Eastern Conference before this disastrous road trip. It dropped four out of five games, all to Western Conference playoff teams, culminating in back-to-back losses in Los Angeles.
George took a big step in getting his team an extra playoff game in L.A. And a miserable road trip is likely to send Cleveland on the road in the first round.
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