If this season ends at the same stage as the last, the Clippers will look back on Sunday night and ask themselves, “What if …?”
What if they had closed out Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz?
What if they had made a basket or two over a crucial three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter?
What if they had prevented 35-year-old Joe Johnson from scoring 11 consecutive points on them?
The game was there for the Clippers to take.