SAN ANTONIO -- Before the playoffs began, each player on the Los Angeles Clippers was handed a sheet of paper.

While Doc Rivers said he didn’t believe in motivational tactics, the black-and-white piece of paper filled with cut-and-pasted media predictions for the Clippers’ first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs served as all the motivation they needed.

“We’re probably one of the most hated teams in the league but that drives us,” Matt Barnes said Thursday night as he sat in front of his locker. “It fuels us to know that 46 out of 47 people picked us to lose. That’s the kind of fire we need to just reassure us that that there’s no time to be comfortable. This team has got what it takes to win a championship and we just have to go prove it now.”

It looked like the Clippers' skeptics would be right coming into Game 6 against the Spurs. Gregg Popovich was 12-1 in closeout games when the Spurs were up 3-2 in a series, and the Clippers had lost their previous two elimination games when down 3-2 in a series.

But history doesn’t mean much to these Clippers. Not anymore. After their 102-96 win over the Spurs to force Game 7 on Saturday in Los Angeles, they’re trying to create their own history.

They understand why almost no one picked them to beat the Spurs. They’ve been watching them win big games in the playoffs for as long as they can remember watching big games in the playoffs.

“A lot of us on our team have been watching these guys since we were kids, in all honesty,” Chris Paul said. “You just see them do the same thing over and over again. It’s been a lot of fun but it all comes down to Game 7.”

Paul knows all too well about the Spurs' history. Although he was just 14 when the Spurs won their first championship, he was 22 years old and in his third season in the league when he played the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs as a member of the New Orleans Hornets. Back then he pushed the Spurs to Game 7 but lost despite playing at home. It was the closest he has been to advancing past the second round of the playoffs, and it’s a game he still hasn’t allowed himself to forget to this day.

“I remember a lot about it,” Paul said. “I actually watch it every now and then. I watch some of the plays from it. It was a different team then and a different time then and a different situation.”

Paul also hopes it will be a different result this time after losing his previous two playoff series to the Spurs. He made sure he wouldn’t lose his third series to San Antonio on the Spurs' home court despite going 0-for-7 from the field in the first half. Paul responded in the second half by going 7-for-14 and finishing with 19 points and 15 assists.

“I don’t care, in the playoffs this means nothing,” Paul said, grabbing a final box score and turning it over. “You win or lose. It was all about continuing to take the shots and doing whatever it takes to win.”

If the Clippers are able to win Game 7 against the Spurs and advance to the second round against Houston, Thursday’s win in San Antonio will be viewed as a turning point for this group and the most significant road win in franchise history. While the Clippers were able to beat the Grizzlies and Warriors in first-round Game 7 wins in two of the past three seasons, neither team has the pedigree of the Spurs, winners of five NBA titles and six Western Conference titles since 1999.

“To be on the floor with these guys, starting with Pop [Gregg Popovich] to Tim [Duncan] to Tony [Parker], Manu [Ginobli], they’ve been a staple for the league the past 10-15 years,” Barnes said. “Them winning the championship last year and coming back strong this year, this is a hell of a first-round matchup. This could easily be the Western Conference finals. It is special playing against San Antonio.”

Before the Clippers knew who they would face in the playoffs, Blake Griffin said he would like to avoid the Spurs in the first round if possible but has responded to the challenge of facing the defending champions by playing his best basketball of the season despite battling the flu the past two games. He has been averaging 24.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 6 assists in the postseason, all improvements over his regular-season average.

“They are a great team in every sense of the word,” Griffin said. “I don’t think you can look at a team over the past 20 years or so that has been better. [Tim] Duncan is a great player and one of the best players of all time. They have been in this situation. They went into a Game 7 with Dallas last year in the first round and they ended winning the whole thing. They have been in this situation and they know not to panic.”

The Clippers long ago grew tired of talking about the learning and growing processes. They are now in their fourth year together but don’t mind admitting how much they have learned and grown during this seven-game series against the Spurs. Even the two heartbreaking losses at home have helped them mature in a way that probably would not have been possible if they had played any other team this postseason.

“It has been entertaining,” Griffin said. “Even to experience three losses. No matter what happens the first three quarters, it seems like the fourth quarter, with the exception of Game 3, it’s almost anybody’s game. It has been a lot of fun to play in. Like we said after Game 5, this series is not over and we haven’t done anything just by winning this game. We have one more game to play and we are happy we are going home to play.”