Doc Rivers was arguing for a call midway through the third quarter Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena when referee Natalie Sago turned to face him.
Reasons were many why Rivers’ team should have been done for the night at that moment too. They’d already committed 20 turnovers and watched Oklahoma City turn them into 15 points. Within a two-minute stretch of the third quarter both Avery Bradley and Patrick Beverley were called for technicals by Sago while arguing calls. Forty seconds into the fourth quarter, the Clippers trailed by 17 points, their largest deficit.
Yet the Clippers never quite went away despite committing a season-high 26 turnovers, trailing by six points with 50 seconds remaining in the game.