MILWAUKEE – The most important moment – or at least the most interesting one – in Wednesday’s 109-95 Clipper win over the Bucks wasn’t a J.J. Redick jumper.

It wasn’t one of Chris Paul’s 18 assists. It wasn’t one of DeAndre Jordan’s 19 rebounds or his colossal slam over Greg Monroe.

It was a botched defensive assignment that led to a layup and the fiery aftermath.

In the final 10 seconds of the first quarter, Josh Smith and Austin Rivers got crossed up on a defensive assignment, resulting in an uncontested Michael Carter-Williams layup.

No one was happy, including Coach Doc Rivers.

As the Clippers brought the ball back the other way, Smith ran along the Clipper sideline, with Rivers angrily yelling about the botched execution. Amazingly, while all this was going on, the ball swung to Smith in the corner in front of the bench, and he hit a buzzer-beating 3.

He didn’t celebrate the points; he took his mouthguard out and yelled back at Rivers.

Then he angrily put his warm-up shirt back on and took a seat on the bench.

“It was a defensive mistake that we’d just gone over,” Rivers said. “That’s what irritated me.”

It was a moment that could’ve helped the Clippers disintegrate. With rumors that the Clippers are shopping Smith and Lance Stephenson, rumors Rivers called “silly,” serving as a backdrop, the wrong twist, the wrong tension, seemingly, could bring the Clippers down.

But Wednesday gave a hint to a larger truth. Maybe the Clippers are stronger than we think.

On-court disagreements aren’t new to the Clippers. Blake Griffin and Redick bickered as Redick left the court in the first quarter after the two battled for the same rebound, leading to a turnover.

Last season, Jordan, Paul and Griffin had a lengthy disagreement in a win at Utah.

“Guys get irritated,” Doc Rivers said. “Guys say things to coaches. Coaches say things to players. Players say things to players. …Tonight, we just wanted to win, and we were irritated. …We do have a group to me, where, it just kind of goes away and it’s good.”

This doesn’t happen everywhere.

“Those,” Rivers said, “are the kinds of teams you don’t win with.”

Everyone from Paul to Jordan to Smith said the Clippers need to be able to be honest with one another, to point out each other’s mistakes without hurting feelings.

“It happens,” Paul said. “It happens sometimes when we’re winning. It happens sometimes when we’re losing. It’s what good teams do.”

Smith said there’s a common thread running through the Clipper locker room and staff that keeps them from allowing incidents like Wednesday’s to escalate. They all know they’re in the building for the same reason.

After arguing with his coach on the sideline in Milwaukee, Smith stayed engaged in the game. When someone made a play, he applauded. When someone checked out, he offered a hand.

“At the end of the day, we’re all competitors,” Smith said. “We all want each other to do our best. It’s nothing personal when we’re policing each other. You saw it where multiple players got on each other; then, we moved forward. And, we found a way to win.

“ … I’ve been on some bad teams, but this is a team that’s a veteran group. We know what we’re capable and we have one common goal, and that’s to win a championship. If you have that vision and focus on that task, anything that happens during the game doesn’t faze you.”

THE BIGGEST NEWS

Paul Pierce said he’s year-to-year at this point in his career, and he’ll decide this summer whether to retire or not. Inconsistent play and inconsistent minutes have defined his L.A. homecoming thus far, with the Hall of Famer averaging career lows in almost all statistical categories.

THE BEST QUOTE

“I think the older you get and the less and less you’re able to do things that you could do before, you start thinking about maybe it’s that time” – Pierce, on thinking about retirement.

THE BEST STAT

Redick was 4-of-17 from the field in his first six quarters after returning from essentially a two-game absence thanks to a sprained right ankle. In the last two quarters Wednesday, Redick was 8-of-10.

AFTER THE BUZZER

Paul recorded a season-high 18 assists and was a team-best plus-25. … The Clippers held Milwaukee to a season-low 20 percent from 3-point range. … Jordan is averaging 16.8 rebounds over his last five games. … The Clippers’ game at Chicago on Thursday will be the first time this season they have played three road games in a row.

Contact the writer: dwoike@ocregister.com