



MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In the bowels of an empty arena, the NBA's most maligned coach stood in a long, narrow corridor and clutched a big tub of popcorn. The Los Angeles Clippers' Vinny Del Negro has been a punch line for people, a B-list Hollywood sitcom foil forever on the wrong end of the gag, a former player and front-office executive portrayed as a bumbling sideline caretaker.

Somehow, he's been the coach who gets all the blame and none of the credit. Yes, he understands that's the nature of the business. Only now, Del Negro was leaving Memphis with a Game 7 victory on Sunday, leaving with a berth in the Western Conference semifinals, and a measure of vindication belonged to him. He's been the easiest target in basketball, but people have underestimated his staying power.

In a shortened season with complete roster turnover, several injuries and no practice time, it had been reported that Del Negro lost his locker room two months ago. He was a dead coach walking. He listens to a lot of this, lets most of it go, but that story cut to his credibility and stayed on his mind. In the biggest victory of his coaching career, on his way to San Antonio for the Western Conference semifinals, the mere mention still made him seethe.

"That was a joke," Del Negro told Yahoo! Sports. "That would never happen with one of my teams."

His eyes lit up now, growing wide as a half-dollar.

"Never, EVER happen," Del Negro barked.

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"Everybody wants to win, but you've got to know how to win. You're in this league by hiring the right people, supporting people and everybody pulling in the same direction. And when things go bad? That's when I want to see who's standing next to me, supporting me. 'Hey coach, it's OK. Don't worry about it. We'll go get 'em.' But not what happens when you start struggling, and they're like, 'He can't coach. He's an [expletive]. He's stubborn. '

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"Well, that's weak. I'm a loyal guy. I don't do it like that. By the way, it's not just my job. It's the organization's job too. You don't just lose a team. That's a copout. It was, 'Oh, they're losing. Let's pick on this guy.'

"And then, guess what we did?

"We won. "

Yes, they did. The Clippers won, and Del Negro is going nowhere but San Antonio for Game 1 on Tuesday.

Against the odds, these Clippers delivered a playoff series victory for only the third time in four decades. And they didn't win because Chris Paul was spry and dominating; his hip flexor severely slowed him down. They didn't win because Blake Griffin did chin-ups on the rim; a sprained knee kept him on the bench for most of the fourth quarter. This wasn't a victory for Lob City, but a validation of a coach who found a way to get these Clippers into the conference semifinals a different way – with toughness, tenacity and ultimately a resolve that also reflects on the coach.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins was a disaster in the fourth quarter, bringing in lost souls and washed-up guards for the most important minutes of the season. Zach Randolph sat on the bench far too long in the fourth, and Del Negro understood he needed his toughest players on the floor and let Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans go as long as needed to secure the victory.

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