Livingston Stays Cool in Spotlight

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaun Livingston caught the ball from a Clippers assistant coach behind the three-point arc and lofted a soft shot toward the hoop.

Livingston didn't even watch as the ball swished through the net. In fact, by the time it did he was already taking a pass from the assistant coach and setting up for another shot.

Again, swish.

It was two hours before the Clippers took the floor against the Nuggets in Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, and already Staples Center was buzzing with the anticipation of the Clippers first postseason series win in 30 years.

But you'd never know it by watching Livingston nonchalantly sink jumper after jumper during as if he was preparing for just another regular-season game.

The fact it was a potential series clincher didn't seem to faze him. The 20-year old point guard, a first-round pick of the Clippers in 2004 out of Peoria (Ill.) Central High School, seemed like the coolest guy in the building.

"He's totally comfortable in this setting," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

It helps that Livingston was coming off one of his best games as a professional in the Clippers 100-86 victory over the Nuggets in Game 4.

With the Nuggets needing a win to tie the series after beating the Clippers in Game 3, Livingston provided a spark off the bench with 16 points, six assists and six rebounds.

As a result, the Clippers not only returned home to Los Angeles with a commanding 3-1 lead, they also had a rested Sam Cassell, thanks to the 31effective minutes Livingston played.

"I thought (Livingston's) last game, based on the opponent and everything else one of the best games he's played in his career," Dunleavy said.

Interestingly, it was the fear of failure that prodded Livingston to his best performance of the season. With the Clippers playing so well, the wiry 6-foot-7 Livingston didn't want to be the guy to mess things up. </div>

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