Daily NBA Fix 5-14-14: Officiating Overshadows Thunderous Comeback

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Daily NBA Fix 5-14-14:

May 13, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in game five of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder defeated the Clippers 105-104. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

In last night’s NBA action, we were treated to a boring Eastern Conference blowout and a thrilling last-minute Western Conference rally that had many turning their TVs back on after giving up on the game. The Washington Wizards lived to fight another day with a dominant road win against the Indiana Pacers, but unlike the poor Portland Trail Blazers, who are faced with the impossible task of beating the San Antonio Spurs three more times, it actually feels like the Wiz have a shot here. Controversy and conflict ruled the day as the Oklahoma City Thunder completed an insane comeback in Game 5’s final minute to take a 3-2 series lead on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Complaining about the officiating has become a (justified) tradition in the NBA Playoffs, but if you’re looking for the real cause of Lob City’s collapse into Slob City, there’s no one to blame but the Clippers and their complete lack of offensive execution down the stretch. Just like the Thunder choked away Game 4, the Clippers did the same in Game 5. We’ll dive into this more in-depth in a minute, but suffice it to say that last night’s loss wasn’t as much of a hosing at Basketball Twitter made it out to be.

I don’t think NBA referees rig games; I just think they can be pretty horrible at their jobs sometimes. The controversies of last night’s Game 5 will be all anybody wants to talk about until Game 6, but all that means is people will be sadly overlooking a perfect example of why we should let Russell Westbrook just be Russell Westbrook. And if you honestly think the NBA is rigged by its referees, try watching boxing and then get back to me.

On today’s Daily NBA Fix, we’ve got game highlights from last night, game summaries, the five best and worst players of the night and the Goose Egg, Clean and Sober and Ironman Awards. We’ll also throw in some random tidbits and take a look at the NBA schedule and we’ll even throw in the daily lines with some predictions for the gamblers out there.

Check out the video highlights first and then start on the game capsules (home team in CAPS).