Los Angeles Clippers reserve scorer Jamal Crawford came into Monday night's home game vs. the Denver Nuggets in a poor run of form. Crawford hadn't shot 50 percent or better from the field since January 10 (for seven consecutive games), an issue for a player known for his ability to heat up quickly. The Clippers had performed well over that stretch (winning five of seven), but they had missed production from their best bench scorer.
After the Nuggets game, Crawford's run of sub-50-percent-shooting games sits at eight in a row. But it's safe to say that no one cares after a fourth quarter performance that essentially won his team the game. With 21 of his 23 points in the final period, Crawford helped the Clippers overcome a 10-point deficit and extended their winning streak to five straight wins.
Yet Crawford's most impressive play of the night was an assist, not a basket. With 1:23 remaining and the score tied at 94-94, he saved a risky pass from Chris Paul with a behind-the-back dish right to Matt Barnes for an easy lay-in:
The Clippers never relinquished the lead and ended up with a 102-98 victory. Crawford, the league's second-best fourth-quarter scorer this season behind Damian Lillard, also hit three of four free throws in the final five seconds to ice the game. Take a look at his game-winning 12 minutes here:
His play was impressive enough to cause DeAndre Jordan (who had his own highlight sequence earlier in the game) to jump into the postgame interview so he could literally sing Crawford's praises (via SB Nation):
Maybe Jordan will record an album if Crawford does something similar the next time out.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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