Houston’s Corey Brewer fined $5,000 for flopping in Game 2 win over Clippers

The NBA fined Houston Rockets forward Corey Brewer $5,000 on Thursday for flopping in the team’s Game 2 win over the Clippers on Thursday at Toyota Center.

Replays showed that Brewer dramatically fell backwards and landed on floor underneath the basket after Clippers guard Lester Hudson mildly pushed him away during an inbounds play. Hudson was called for the foul on the call.

The monetary penalties for flopping increase with each offense in the playoffs, including fines worth $10,000 (second offense), $15,000 (third offense) and $30,000 (fourth offense). A fifth violation could prompt the NBA to punish with both an increased fine and suspension.

The NBA defines flopping “as any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the
referees to call a foul on another player.” The league mostly determined if a player committed a flop based on whether “their physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact.”

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Clippers’ Glen Davis to play in Game 7 vs. Spurs

San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (21) and Los Angeles Clippers' Glen Davis (0) scramble for a rebound during the first half of Game 6 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Thursday, April 30, 2015, in San Antonio. Los Angeles Clippers' Austin Rivers is at left. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) and Los Angeles Clippers’ Glen Davis (0) scramble for a rebound during the first half of Game 6 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Thursday, April 30, 2015, in San Antonio. Los Angeles Clippers’ Austin Rivers is at left. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

The Clippers consider forward Glen Davis available to play in Game 7 of their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at Staples Center, two days after nursing a sprained left ankle that kept him out for most of the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ Game 6 win over the Spurs.

“Baby’s fine,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “If you play in the game, you’re healthy. That’s the way the other team views it. That’s the way I always view it. If you’re on the floor, I expect you to be 100 percent.”

Davis walked around gingerly in the locker room before indicating that he feels fine and would not sit out a game that will decide the first-round series.

The Clippers have featured an eight-man rotation through six playoff games, a trend that speaks both to the Spur’s depth superiority and the Clippers’ talented starters that include Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Though Rivers has downplayed the trend, the Spurs’ reserves have outscored the Clippers’ bench, 217-134.

Yet, Davis has helped the Clippers despite averaging only 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game. He has provided energy. Davis also has given the Clippers a dependable option in place of Jordan whenever the Spurs intentionally send him to the foul line. But Rivers said he may play Spencer Hawes or Hedo Turkoglu should Davis experience any limitations.

“We pay them all. They all have to be ready,” Rivers said. “That doesn’t mean we’ll play them all. But if somebody is not performing well, or goes out with injury when it’s your role players, you expect someone else to come in and do the job.”

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Follow L.A. Daily News’ Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com

Clippers’ Blake Griffin admitted fatigue factored into his late Game 5 struggles

Clippers#32 Blake Griffin comforts Clippers#6 DeAndre Jordan after he was called for offensive goal tending in the final seconds of the game. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-107 in game 5 of the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. Los Angeles, CA 4/28/2015 (Photo by John McCoy Daily News)

Clippers#32 Blake Griffin comforts Clippers#6 DeAndre Jordan after he was called for offensive goal tending in the final seconds of the game. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-107 in game 5 of the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. Los Angeles, CA 4/28/2015 (Photo by John McCoy Daily News)

He stormed onto the court, Blake Griffin putting his fingerprints all over a game with timely stops, accurate jumpers and athletic dunks.

Once it ended, the Clippers forward walked off nursing a soaked jersey, a sore body and gasping for breath.

The deflating feeling surrounding the Clippers’ 111-107 Game 5 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at Staples Center goes beyond trailing 3-2 in first-round series and facing a potential elimination in Game 6 in San Antonio on Thursday. Griffin’s towering presence also shrank as every exhausting minute passed.

Though he posted a team-high 30 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes, Griffin labored through the fourth quarter as he went 1-of-9 from the field and committed three turnovers. All of which Griffin conceded partly stemmed from his series-high 41.2 minutes finally catching up.

“Down the stretch, everybody is tired,” Griffin said. “It’s a factor. But it’s a factor for everybody, so it’s not really an advantage or disadvantage for anybody.”
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Clippers’ Doc Rivers laments the ‘brutal calls” in 111-107 Game 5 loss to Spurs

Clippers coach Doc Rivers, left, greets Blake Griffin as he walks to the bench during Tuesday night’s game against San Antonio. Griffin entered the game leading L.A. in rebounds and assists through the first four games of the series. JOHN MCCOY — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Clippers coach Doc Rivers, left, greets Blake Griffin as he walks to the bench during Tuesday night’s game against San Antonio. Griffin entered the game leading L.A. in rebounds and assists through the first four games of the series. JOHN MCCOY — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Over and over again, Clippers coach Doc Rivers tells his players that playoff games come down to single possessions.

When it came down to analyzing the Clippers’ 111-107 Game 5 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at Staples Center, those single possessions made a mounting difference. Among one of many factors: Rivers lamented about what he called the “brutal calls” the team received.

“I don’t complain much. I thought we got some really tough calls,” Rivers said. “It’s not why we lost. But those were big plays for us.”
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Clippers see Blake Griffin emerging as a leader

Blake Griffin skies for a dunk over San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in the first half of the Clippers’ Game 1 victory Sunday night at Staples Center. (David Crane/Staff Photographer)

Blake Griffin skies for a dunk over San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in the first half of the Clippers’ Game 1 victory Sunday night at Staples Center. (David Crane/Staff Photographer)

The man has defied gravity with his earth-shattering dunks. He has proven more to be a one-trick pony with an increasingly dependable mid-range jumper.

But Blake Griffin added another line to his resume through the Clippers’ 114-105 Game 4 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at AT&T Center. As the Clippers enter Game 5 on Tuesday at Staples Center with the series tied at 2-2, Griffin has become one of the team’s leaders.

Chris Paul briefly sat out of the game because of foul trouble. DeAndre Jordan also left to escape the Spurs from intentionally sending him to the free throw line. But even without the Clippers’ leading passer and rebounder, Griffin filled in both areas well. Griffin offered a near triple double, his 20 points, career-high 19 rebounds and seven assists continuing a series-long trend in which he has dominated nearly every category.

“Blake has taken the lead on both ends of the floor now,” Clippers forward Matt Barnes said. “He really has a complete game in offense, whether it’s picking and popping, attacking the basket, making shots or making plays for others.”

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Clippers believe urgency will determine outcome in Game 5 vs. Spurs

Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul (3) celebrates after scoring against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 26, 2015, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (3) celebrates after scoring against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 26, 2015, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

When the Clippers account for Doc River’s honest film sessions, Chris Paul’s demanding leadership and Blake Griffin’s expanded game, an underlying theme emerges.

The difference between a Clippers debilitating loss or an inspiring win in their 2-2 first-round series to San Antonio traces to one thing. With Rivers calling the Clippers and Spurs “evenly matched” and describing his opponent as “really fundamentally sound,” he and his players echoed after Monday’s practice that urgency will play the main factor in determining the outcome of Game 5 on Tuesday at Staples Center.

“You have to be ready to play and ready to sustain play in this series,” Rivers said at the Clippers’ practice facility in Playa Vista. “Even in the middle of a game, you can’t take a break. When you take a break, they make a run. When they take a break, we make a run.”

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