The Los Angeles Clippers have to hold this desperation.
This was the team that was laughed out of the bubble after blowing a 3-1 second-round series lead to the Denver Nuggets that was even worse than it appears on paper, and somehow they are the most resilient team in the NBA playoffs a year later. With Thursday's 106-92 Game 3 win over the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals, the Clips are now 0-6 in the first two games of each round and 9-1 otherwise.
Playing without All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard, they looked especially dead in the water against the Suns, who won the first two games without All-Star point guard Chris Paul and reintegrated him into the lineup.