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Doc Rivers calls timeout at end of game to give Dirk Nowitzki one final salute

This was a classy move by Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers.

There were 9.4 seconds remaining in a game that was all but over — the Clippers led and won 121-112 — and Doc Rivers called a timeout. While players looked confused, Rivers walked over to the scorer’s table, picked up a microphone, and implored the Staples Center crowd to give Dirk Nowitzki one final standing ovation.

Well done by Rivers.

By the way, this was a big win for Los Angeles, which is now in sole possession of seventh place in the West. On a night where the Lakers/Kings/Spurs all lost, the Clippers making the playoffs looks more and more real. Fivethirtyeight.com has the Clippers with a 75 percent chance of making the postseason.

Which is incredible for a team that two trade deadlines in a row has sent away its best player (Blake Griffin last year, Tobias Harris this year). The Clippers have been a model of how to rebuild on the fly, and this summer if they land a max free agent or two (hello Kawhi Leonard) they will have had a retool for the ages.