If the Los Angeles Clippers wind up losing their first-round series to the San Antonio Spurs, they can look back to the last 12 seconds of Game 2 for the moment that will haunt them all summer. Up two points with the ball, Blake Griffin somehow lost his dribble, and could only lay on the floor holding his head in frustration as a game, and possibly a series turned. 

The Turnover, as it someday might come to be known in Clippers lore, was just one in a series of missed opportunities the Clippers failed to capitalize on. While the Spurs seized the moment like the defending champs they are, the Clippers, in a wrenching flashback to last season’s Game 5 collapse against the Thunder, once again seemed to crumble under the burden of expectations.

It was a game the Clippers seemingly had no business winning, morphing into a game they will regret letting slip away.

Outplayed for much of the first 44 minutes, the Clippers battled back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit. Griffin had played brilliantly, with a double-double (29 points, 11 assists) to offset a dominant performance by Tim Duncan (28/11). Even after Griffin lost the ball, the Clippers had a chance to win it in the final 8.6 seconds, but Chris Paul could not land his mid-range jumper over Duncan. 

Heading into overtime, it still seemed like advantage, Clippers: Tony Parker was out with a strained Achilles, Manu Ginobli had fouled out; Tim Duncan had five fouls.

But it was too late. The momentum had turned. Two more critical Griffin turnovers, plus another by Jordan, led to the Spurs extending to a four-point lead. Afterwards, the Clippers’ two subdued stars blamed themselves.

“That game is pretty much 100 percent on me," Griffin said. "I got the ball and, up two, needed to take care of it, needed to get a good shot or try to get fouled. [Instead] I turned it over, so that game is on me." 

“We gotta finish, we've been talking about it all season long, we had the opportunity to go up two-to-nothing and didn't take full advantage of it," said Paul. "We have to execute down the stretch and that's on me. In overtime, we gotta defend better.  I gotta do a better job of making sure my guys are ready.”

The Clippers could also stand to make some free throws. They made only 20 of 37 from the line; the Hack-A-Jordan strategy largely worked, as DeAndre Jordan made only 6 of 17, and Matt Barnes missed 4 of 5 in crunch time.

The game had a vastly different complexion from Game 1, when the Clippers young legs ran the Spurs off the floor, and the Spurs shot only 36%, many on wide-open looks. This time, the Spurs came out firing, using precision ball movement to get the shots they wanted. Duncan hit 10 of his first 11 shots, many of them quick one-hand pops that left Jordan flat-footed.  

Defensively, they contained the Clippers’ transition game and held Paul to a quiet 21 points

The Clippers’ bench weakness was exposed as feared, the Spurs bench topping them 48-17, with Patty Mills scoring an important 18 in relief of the ailing Parker, who did not score a field goal and clearly had no life on his jump shots.  Four of the Clippers’ five starters played at least 43 minutes, while only the ageless Duncan (44 minutes) played as much for the Spurs.

Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich paid tribute to Duncan, calling him “one of those iconic figures that all organizations want.” 

“He pays my bills, for a long time,” Popovich continued. “He’s beyond special.”

Duncan has made the playoffs in each of his 18 seasons, and showed again why he will be remembered as one of the greatest, most competitive centers in NBA history. He played the last few minutes of the fourth quarter and all of OT with five fouls, hit 14 of 23 shots, and formed a potent inside-out 1-2 punch with Kawhi Leonard (23 points).

“He was spectacular," said Popovich. "He continues to amaze me with the things that he is able to do. He knows he had to stay on the court and he figured out a way to do it. He continued to be aggressive, which is pretty amazing.

Also amazing: Duncan being humble enough to apologize to teammates for his surprisingly ineffectual fourth quarter, when he shot 1-5.

“I was awful,” Duncan said. “I missed two or three layups. I made two or three defensive mistakes and gave up dunks to DeAndre.”

Maybe so, but in the end, it was the Clippers who failed to step up and finish a Spurs team that was ripe for the taking. Champions rarely beat themselves, and given new life, the Spurs were calm and poised where the Clippers were not. 

“This is going to be a helluva series,” said Doc Rivers.  

Whether the Clippers’ character can measure up to their immense talent remains to be seen.