Basketball can be beautiful and cruel in the same moment. Last night in Los Angeles, we saw both.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 38 points off the bench in his Clippers home debut, helping LA complete a double-digit comeback against the Nuggets. And then the game ended when Jamal Murray - one of the clutchest players in the league - missed a game-tying free throw with 0.09 seconds left.
Let's start with Mathurin, because what a debut. 38 points. 5 rebounds. 4 assists. On 12-of-22 shooting in 34 minutes off the bench. The Clippers traded for him because they needed scoring punch, and he delivered immediately.
"I just wanted to come out and play my game," Mathurin said after the win. "Show these fans what I can do. Help my new team win. This is what I've been working for."
The Nuggets were up double digits in the fourth quarter. They had control. They were about to steal one on the road. And then Mathurin and the Clippers started chipping away. Bucket after bucket. Defensive stop after defensive stop. Suddenly it's a game again.
But the ending - oh, the ending. Murray gets fouled with 0.09 seconds left. The Nuggets are down one. Make the free throw, tie the game, head to overtime. Simple, right?
Except nothing is simple with 0.09 seconds left in a tight game. Murray steps to the line. The crowd is deafening. The pressure is enormous. And the shot... rattles out.
Game over. Clippers win.
I've watched Jamal Murray make clutch shots his entire career. The guy hit insane shots in the bubble. He's carried the Nuggets in playoff games. He's got ice in his veins. But tonight? Tonight the basketball gods said no.
That's the cruel part of sports. You can be one of the most clutch players in the league, and one free throw can still haunt you. Murray will remember this moment for a long time. So will Clippers fans - but for very different reasons.
For Mathurin, this was a dream debut. New team, new city, new opportunity - and he seized it with both hands. 38 points is a statement. That's not just fitting in - that's arriving.
The Clippers needed this win. They needed Mathurin to prove he can be a difference-maker. They needed to show they can come back from double-digit deficits. And they got all of that in one night.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are left wondering what if. What if Murray makes that free throw? What if they hold the lead? What if they get to overtime?
But sports don't deal in what-ifs. They deal in what happened. And what happened is Bennedict Mathurin announced himself in LA, and Jamal Murray's free throw bounced the wrong way.
That's what sports is all about, folks. Joy and heartbreak, separated by 0.09 seconds.
