Defense and even scoring led to the win, and obviously Clippers didn't help themselves with constant whining, which made the officiating a little bit more uneven. Harden was out tonight, and everyone else stepped up big time, especially defensively.
Lin's numbers weren't eye-poping, but he did a pretty good job on Chris Paul. This was a team win, as every single player on the court contributed in his own ways. I wouldn't categorize this as a Lin-led win as with the Knicks when Melo was out, for Lin's 0 rebound, 3 assists, and 6 TOs weren't exactly leading performance. However, this win was so important shortly before playoffs, for a number of reasons: 1. This was the first win without Harden, and a convincing win against a quality team (albeit not at their best night). 2. This was a very balanced team win, from starters to bench. 3. All players worked hard defensively. 4. The team fended off pressure very well - coming from disappointing loss, best player out, facing a better team on-paper etc.
Last night, McHale was crucified for leaving the starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. It wasn't about player's capability, but rather their attitudes. Bench players played much harder with much better result, and they were rewarded accordingly. But that was more about penalizing the starters, for their pi$$-poor effort, or lacking thereof.
It was a bold move by McHale, and it was obviously very controversial. You can always argue that starters might have caught up on the end. But last night, Lin was the best among starters in the +/- column, with a -14. It was a shameful performance, and there is no reason to believe that they would have "turned it on" later in the game, by themselves. I think the Coach did the right thing to punish them all together, and sent a strong message, to every single one of them.
I am glad that the team responded very positively, with a much needed and much improved defensive efforts, led by examples from Lin and Asik. Hopefully they can carry that defensive intensity through the finish line.
