By Danny B Sports
Stephen Dunn / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The San Antonio Spurs hung on for a 111-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 on Tuesday, despite never leading by more than seven points. The Spurs now have a 3-2 series lead, while the Clippers surely feel like they blew a terrific opportunity on their home court.
Thought likely to be the best of the first-round playoff matchups, the Clippers and Spurs have given fans everything they could have asked for through five games. The Clippers won the opener, the Spurs stole home court in Game 2 and took the series lead in Game 3, and then the Clippers took home court back in Game 4.
And now the Spurs will go home with the chance to wrap the series up and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
Tuesday's Game 5 may have been the best encounter yet, the intentional fouling of DeAndre Jordan aside.
Turning Point
It's difficult to nail down a single turning point in such a back-and-forth game. "Game of runs" is generally an unspecific cliche, but that's exactly what Tuesday was.In a game this close, the focus naturally falls on late-game execution.
At the free-throw line down 108-105 with 39.9 seconds left, Blake Griffin missed a pair of free throws, seemingly swinging the game in San Antonio's favor. But Chris Paul grabbed the offensive rebound, and after a Jamal Crawford miss, Matt Barnes was fouled corralling another. He hit a pair of freebies to cut the lead to one, saving the potential death knell of a possession and setting up a crazy finish.
Following a Danny Green miss from outside, L.A. had 6.9 seconds left. They called Griffin's number out of the timeout, and after a missed Griffin layup, Jordan had a potential game-winner taken away on offensive cylinder interference. Have a look:

Oh, and Austin Rivers was surprisingly a thing once again, hitting a third-quarer buzzer-beater that probably tickled the owner, too:
Series at a Glance
Game 2: Spurs 111, Clippers 107 OT (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Spurs 100, Clippers 73 (Spurs lead 2-1)
Game 4: Clippers 114, Spurs 105 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: Spurs 111, Clippers 107 (Spurs lead 3-2)
Game 6: Thursday, April 30, 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 7*: Saturday, May 2, TBD
* if necessary
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