When I last covered the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center, in May, they were weary and defeated, having been eliminated in six games by the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. Their future was cloudy, the litigation over the Donald Sterling mess threatening to drag on into this season.

And then, Sterling was deposed, Microsoft billionaire Steve Ballmer pulled $2 billion out of his pockets, promptly signed Doc Rivers to a five-year extension, and a new era, Clippers A.S. (After Sterling) began. Overnight, the culture changed; this was a team expected not just to contend, but to win, the kind of winning that culminates with parades in June.  You don’t fork over two bil to squeak into the playoffs as an 8^th seed; this year, the nucleus is there to get the Clippers deeper into the Western Conference playoffs than they’ve ever been.

Of course, one could argue the nucleus was there last year, but it was obvious during the Thunder series that the Clippers still had some maturing to do.

Which brings us to Saturday night’s game at Staples Center against the New Orleans Pelicans, and their prodigiously talented 21-year-old phenom, Anthony Davis, a 6’10 gazelle with lightning speed and the wingspan of an Airbus. The Clippers wanted to get physical with Davis, push him out of the paint, wear him down, and things couldn’t have started better. Blake Griffin, displaying a defensive prowess not often evident a year ago, leaned and pushed and hounded Davis, and he managed just one shot in the first seven minutes.  By then, sparked by 13 points by JJ Redick, he Clippers had a 13 point lead, en route to a 34-18 first quarter.

“That first quarter of defense was as good as you can get,” Rivers would say later.  “Hands in the right place, deflections – our guys are starting to understand that the more stops you get, the more into a rhythm you get.”

Then it all went to pot. The second unit came in and lost whatever momentum the starters had built up, the Pelicans shooting 73% and, with Davis starting to make his presence felt and Ryan Anderson going off for __ points, outscoring the Clippers, 36-20, to tie the game at 54 heading into the half.  From all reports, the locker room was not a happy place.

“That’s the most upset I’ve seen my players at halftime,” said Rivers. The lesson for the second unit was make your own day. In the fourth quarter, the second unit came in and finished the job this time."

A year ago, or even six weeks ago, when the Clippers stumbled through a 7-5 start, it might’ve been the kind of game the Clippers might not have recovered from, letting frustration and emotion get in the way.  Instead, they locked down the Pelicans in the third and got the running game going, overwhelming the Pelicans with a 39-24 third quarter.  The lead ballooned to 25 midway through the fourth, and the party was on. Griffin, who surpassed 7,000 points earlier in the game, sat out most of the fourth. The Clippers won their seventh straight, 120-100, and are beginning

Davis wound up with 26 points, but they were quiet points, and most tellingly, with Griffin draped over him like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, grabbed only three rebounds. 

"To go against a guy like that is fun," Griffin said of guarding Davis. "Just keep a body on him. It was a team effort."

On this night at least, the singular talents of Davis were no match on this night for the guile of Paul (18 points, 16 assists), the brute force of Griffin (30 points, 7 rebounds), the domination in the paint by Jordan( 18 rebounds, 5 blocks), the instant offense off the bench by Jamal Crawford (20 points). 

The Clippers rained down 17 three-point shots, and more tellingly, tallied 34 assists.  “When we move the ball, it makes JJ and Jamal lethal weapons,” said Rivers.

As the Clippers grow and mature, a more formidable kind of team has emerged, one that stresses tough defense, spreading the court, and making the extra pass. Maybe not as flashy as Lob City, but more substantial, especially if the Clippers hope to be playing deep into May. 

“It’s not the margin that we’re winning by,” said Griffin meaningfully. “It’s how we’re playing.”