How 'bout them Clippers? Nothing to play for, given up for dead months ago, they close out the season on a three-game winning streak, including last night's shocking blowout of the Portland Trailblazers. That was unprecedented: I can not recall the Clippers ever winning a game late in the season against a team that needed it more, and the notion that the beneficiary of their largesse was their co-tenants at Staples, the Lakers. For the Blazers, it's the difference between a first-round date with Minnesota or Dallas, a winnable series versus a likely sweep, whereas the Lakers now have an imaginable route to a four-peat, no longer having to beat the Mavs, the Kings, and the Spurs on the road just to reach the Finals. April 16, 2003 may have been the first time that the entire city (or at least the hoops fans within) of LA rooted for the Clips, or at least gave a rat's ass how the team did.