NBA bad beat: Clippers had a dunk at the buzzer to cover, and you can guess what happened

The worst bad beats happen when the announcers don't even react to the play that just crushed you. It's like they don't feel your pain at all.

Late-night bettors who were on the Los Angeles Clippers felt some pain at the end of Thursday night's game. The Clippers played the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat and the line kept moving in their favor. It started with Clippers -2.5 at BetMGM, but by early Thursday morning it was 3.5. It closed at 5. So most Clippers bettors had tickets between -3.5 and -5.

The Clippers and Heat played a tight game down the stretch, and then at the end there was a chance for the cover, or at least a push. The Heat trailed by 3, but Clippers forward Nicolas Batum stole the inbounds pass. He batted it ahead to Terance Mann. Batum was having his jersey almost ripped off his body by Bam Adebayo before he was batting the ball ahead — a foul there would have put a career 84 percent free-throw shooter on the line — but nothing was called. That was OK, because Mann had the ball in the open court and he wasn't pulling it out. He wanted to score and put the Clippers up 5.

And then Mann missed a dunk. If you want to call it a layup that's fine, just watch this miserable heartbreak like you had money on the Clippers -4.5:

Mann's miss meant nothing to the outcome. The big play was Batum's defense, which ensured the Heat couldn't try a game-tying shot. That's why there weren't endless replays of Mann's miss on social media this morning. That's why the announcers just bemoaned the game ending on a Heat turnover, ignoring the missed shot after that.

But Clippers bettors knew. That might have cost them some sleep, among other things.