Doc Rivers has admitted that the Los Angeles Clippers were "frustrated" by their narrow defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in game five of their first-round playoff series.
The Clippers were beaten 111-107 at the Staples Center, giving the defending champions a 3-2 lead in the series.
The coach told reporters: "I've got a team in there that played their heart out, and they're frustrated a little bit. They're frustrated at themselves because, at the end of the day, it's always our fault.
"But they're frustrated at other stuff, too, and in a game like that with that magnitude, there should be no frustration that way at all.
"I thought we got some really tough calls tonight, some brutal calls. The travel on Blake [Griffin], the goaltend on Matt [Barnes], which wasn't a goaltend. You think about the playoffs, and they're single-possession games. Those possessions, those were crucial."
The Spurs will have a chance to secure the series win when the sides meet again on Thursday.
Sian Cowper
