Warriors vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
The Los Angeles Clippers are—in theory—a title contender in the Western Conference, but it is difficult to call any other team a contender if the Golden State Warriors play like they did Wednesday.
The defending Western Conference champions eviscerated Los Angeles at Staples Center, 115-98, thanks to a balanced offensive attack. Klay Thompson led the way with 24 points after scoring 60 in his last game, but five different Warriors finished in double figures as Golden State tallied 32 assists on 42 made field goals.
Golden State won its 15th game in 16 tries and moved to 19-3 on the season and an impressive 10-1 on the road. The Clippers fell to 16-7 overall and 2-5 in their last seven games.
The talent disparity between the two teams was on full display, as Chris Bleck of ESPN Chicago suggested:
Arash Markazi of ESPN.com said, "The Warriors have now beaten the Clippers seven straight times. This had been one of the better rivalries in the NBA."
Even with the commanding win, the Warriors shot an uncharacteristic 7-of-30 (23.3 percent) from three-point range, which means it could have been much worse for the Clippers. The usual suspects were cold from downtown, as Stephen Curry went 0-of-8, and Kevin Durant shot 1-of-5.
Even J.J. Redick went 0-of-2 as his Clippers finished 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from deep. It ended his streak of 77 straight games with a three-point basket, which was the sixth-longest streak in league history, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Thompson had plenty of help from his teammates for the victorious Warriors. Draymond Green (22 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST), Curry (19 PTS, 7 STL, 6 AST, 4 REB) and Durant (16 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) all contributed in various ways.
Despite the loss, the Clippers had six score in double figures, highlighted by Jamal Crawford's 21 points off the bench. Blake Griffin was a measly 5-of-20 from the field on his way to 12 points, and Chris Paul shot 1-of-6 from three-point range but still finished with 15 points. DeAndre Jordan notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Warriors didn't even wait a quarter to bury the Clippers. Los Angeles built an early 10-9 lead, but Golden State finished the first on an overwhelming 28-9 run to seize a 37-19 advantage.
Seven different Warriors scored in the first quarter, and the team as a whole had 14 baskets on 13 assists. Curry led the way with 12 points, but nearly everyone got involved.
It wasn't just the offense dictating the tone for Golden State. It forced nine Clippers turnovers in the first quarter and held the home team to an abysmal 30.4 percent shooting from the field. Michael Wilbon of ESPN called it "surgical," and even the Clippers realized the monumental task ahead of them:
ESPN Stats & Info noted the dominance dated back to the preseason:
The Clippers cut into the lead in the second, as two Crawford threes made it 48-35. The second one was a heave as the shot clock expired that banked in, and Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle said Crawford "pulled a page out of Curry's book, turning around before it went in."
That, along with a putback slam from Griffin over Green, caught the crowd's attention as the Clippers trimmed a 43-27 deficit to 53-46 before halftime. However, Golden State went on a 9-3 spurt—highlighted by a Green three—to end the half with a 62-49 advantage.
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post pointed out the primary pieces weren't even playing particularly well compared to their normal standards:
Even with Curry and Durant struggling from deep, Golden State continued to separate itself from the Clippers in the third quarter. A Green dunk gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game to that point at 75-54, and Durant finally broke through with a straight-away three to make it 78-54.
Curry also notched his seventh steal of the game during the scorching 19-5 start to the third quarter, and Dan Favale of Bleacher Report said, "The Warriors are gonna force the NBA to invent a consolation championship bracket."
The ball movement was a thing of beauty, as NBA on ESPN captured:
Just when it looked like Golden State would completely embarrass Los Angeles, the Clippers closed the third quarter with a 12-2 run to climb from 89-63 to within relative striking distance at 91-75.
The Warriors answered the threat with a quick 9-2 start to the fourth quarter, and Sean Highkin of The Athletic tweeted, "GSW coast a lot in the regular season but they always get up for the Clippers just so they don’t even start to think they can beat them."
The only remaining drama was how much Golden State would win by, and it reached the 30-assist mark during the fourth. NBA.com/Stats illustrated just how impressive the team's passing has been this season:
Golden State settled into something of a cruise-control pace for the final quarter, which helped the Clippers keep the score more respectable, but the final result was never in doubt.
Postgame Reaction
According to Anthony Slater of the Mercury News, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he may rest some of his marquee players in Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz.
Slater shared some of Green's postgame comments, including his takeaways from Andre Iguodala's dunking prowess:
On the other side, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, "It wasn't much of a game," per Bontemps.
Rivers also pointed to the early turnovers as part of the problem, per Rowan Kavner of the Clippers' official website: "We never really got our spirit back after the beginning."
What's Next?
The Warriors continue their five-game road trip Thursday against the Utah Jazz before games against the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans. Every matchup with a Western Conference opponent is another opportunity to put more space between themselves and the rest of their potential playoff adversaries, especially if they play the way they did Wednesday.
Next up for the Clippers are two home games against the Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers before a three-game road trip against Eastern Conference foes. They will try to take care of business at home and end this recent slide before hitting the road.
