It was a pivotal Game 5 with both the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs coming in knotted at two games apiece.

After a hard-fought, entertaining game, the Spurs were the ones who prevailed with a four-point victory, putting the Clippers on the brink of elimination by taking a 3-2 series lead while heading back to San Antonio for Game 6.

The Clippers were the aggressors early in the game as they took a 14-point lead within the first 10 minutes of the game. They thoroughly controlled the pace and got out in transition for easy buckets, led by Blake Griffin.

However, as they do so often, the Spurs did not waver. Gregg Popovich inserted his bench late in the first quarter, and they delivered with a 9-0 run to end the period, cutting Los Angeles’ lead to five in just a minute and a half.

Playing zone defense to start the second, the Spurs were finally able to capture a lead thanks to quick seven points by Patty Mills. Just like in Game 2, Mills was a huge spark off the bench. He hit three straight threes, with a four-point play conversion on one, to bring the Spurs back into the game late in the first and early in the second period.

The action swung back and forth to close out the first half. Blake Griffin continued to carry the offensive load for the Clippers, scoring 21 points by halftime to go with eight boards. He has been aggressive all series long, and his athleticism, quickness, and strength has given the Spurs a lot of fits.

The game remained tight throughout the second half. Midway through the third quarter, though, Gregg Popovich went to the Hack-A-Jordan strategy to throw the game and Clipper players off rhythm. Jordan missed 50 percent of his free-throw attempts, and Doc Rivers was forced to take him out of the game. Once he did, the Clippers were able to pick up the energy and tempo.

Glen Davis made big time defensive plays and hit a fall away turnaround jumper from the mid-post to ignite a 12-6 Clippers run to end the quarter. The game was knotted at 82 apiece heading to the final 12 minutes after a long third quarter that was capped off by 35 attempted free throws.

Boris Diaw knocked in crucial shots down the stretch for the Spurs, including a one-footed long two-pointer with the shot clock expiring.

Late in the game with the Clippers down three and 39 seconds left on the clock, Blake Griffin was fouled. He missed both free throws, but fortunately enough Matt Barnes grabbed the offensive rebound and he, too, was fouled. Barnes calmly sunk both free throws to cut the lead to one.

On the other end, Danny Green missed a wide open three, giving the ball back to the Clippers with six seconds left.

After a timeout, the ball was inbounded to Griffin who attacked the basket, but as his shot was about to drop in, DeAndre Jordan tipped it and was called for an offensive goaltending. If Jordan did not get a finger on that ball, the basket was clearly going to go in.

With that terrible mistake made by Jordan, the Clippers were forced to foul Danny Green with four ticks left on the game clock. Green made his first free throw but missed his second. However, the Clippers were unable to corral the defensive rebound, as Kawhi Leonard gained control of the ball and was fouled.

He knocked down both free throws and iced the game, giving his team a 111-107 victory. Leonard did not have an efficient game by any standards, but he poured in 18 points and added nine boards, none bigger than that last one.

Duncan led the way with yet another double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. He included four assists and three steals to his stat line. His only block of the game was an enormous one. He rejected an eight-foot shot by Griffin with under a minute left, which led to Tony Parker being fouled on the other side.

Speaking of Parker, he had another miserable shooting night, concluding with 13 points. Despite the poor shooting, Parker was aggressive, using his speed and agility to mix the Clippers defense a several times.

The Spurs bench outscored the Clippers bench, 48-17, led by Manu Ginobili’s 14 points and six assists. Patty Mills pitched in 13 points, while Diaw added 10 points and seven rebounds. The bench play has been a crucial part of this series. Last game the Clippers bench was enormous thanks to efficient play by Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford. This game the Spurs bench dominated and singlehandedly brought the team back when they were down early.

With all the free throws due to the intentionally fouling, DeAndre Jordan finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Griffin was phenomenal once again, posting 30 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. Chris Paul included a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists to go with five boards and two steals.

J.J. Redick was more involved in this game, scoring 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting, but he fouled out late in the contest.

Fast break points were in favor of the Clippers, 25-11, as they have been intent on pushing the pace to get early offense. They turned 16 Spurs miscues into 20 points, while San Antonio turned 14 L.A. giveaways into 23 points.

It was a sensational game in what has been the best first-round series in this year’s playoffs. Each team has won on the road, with the Spurs now doing it twice.

With a 3-2 series lead, the Spurs will look to close out the Clippers in San Antonio on Thursday at 9:30 pm EST. Can the Clippers overcome adversity and avoid elimination?

The NBA world will soon find out.