Warriors vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2015 Regular Season
The Golden State Warriors trailed by as many as 23 points Thursday night, but the defending NBA champions responded with a fourth-quarter surge to down the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-117, at the Staples Center and remain undefeated.
Los Angeles led by as many as nine midway through the fourth quarter, but a 22-5 Golden State run down the stretch, facilitated by threes from Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson, helped the Warriors capture the largest comeback win in the NBA this season.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Warriors are now one of five teams to ever start a season 13-0 and are one win shy of tying the 1957-58 Boston Celtics for the best start ever by a defending NBA champion.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 40 points on 11-of-22 shooting (6-of-14 from three), marking the fourth time he's topped 40 points in the Warriors' first 13 games. The reigning MVP added four assists and a season-high 11 rebounds to his final line as Golden State ravaged LA throughout the game's closing stages, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Thompson added a season-high 25 points, and Harrison Barnes chipped in 21, while Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, nine dimes and six rebounds in the win.
Chris Paul entered Thursday having missed the Clippers' last two games due to a groin injury, but it wasn't apparent based on his stellar shooting display. Although Paul was playing gimpy, the floor general scorched Golden State to the tune of 35 points and eight assists while shooting 13-of-22 from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Blake Griffin was similarly dynamic, totaling 27 points, six rebounds and five dimes in 37 minutes. Jamal Crawford added 15 points starting in place of the injured J.J. Redick, who missed his third straight game due to a back injury. DeAndre Jordan tallied nine points and 10 boards, and he was largely held in check with the exception of a couple of ferocious slams.
Paul set the tone early, and the Clippers followed his lead. During a 41-point first quarter that saw LA take a 16-point lead into the second frame, Paul scored or assisted on 27 of his team's first 30 points, according to Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver.
Paul's shot chart during that span was without a blemish, per NBA.com/Stats:
CSNChicago.com's Vincent Goodwill indicated Paul needs to assume a heavier share of the Clippers' offensive burden in the weeks and months ahead:
As the first half progressed, the Clippers' lead expanded to degrees the Warriors weren't familiar with, according to GSWStats on Twitter:
LA scored 16 points off of Golden State's 10 first-half turnovers, and combined with a 20-12 edge in the paint over the game's first 24 minutes, the Clippers entered halftime with a 14-point edge. According to GSWStats, the Clippers' 68 first-half points were the most allowed by the defending champions since a Feb. 6 meeting with the Atlanta Hawks.
But it would have been foolish to expect brief statistical struggles to deter Golden State. Combined with their outrageous depth, the Warriors' resilient disposition has made them the hardest puzzle to solve in the league, and they proved that again Thursday evening, per ESPN Stats & Info:
With the skill necessary to erase double-digit deficits in a moment's notice and the mental fortitude required to maintain a stoic demeanor in the face of adversity, the Warriors will continue to remain the toughest nightly test around.
The Clippers acquitted themselves brilliantly throughout the first half, but their defense fell apart in the fourth quarter just as the Warriors offense shifted into maximum overdrive.
However, LA will have a chance to erase memories of Thursday's loss when it returns to the floor Friday evening for a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Curry and the Warriors will be back in action Friday in the Bay Area when the Chicago Bulls come to town. If that game plays out the way the previous 13 have, Golden State will have a chance to tie the record for the NBA's best start (15-0) Sunday against the Denver Nuggets before the Los Angeles Lakers come to town Tuesday.
Postgame Reaction
"I never thought we were really out of it," Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton told reporters following the win, per Golliver.
Walton added the Warriors took joy in the win since it was over their Pacific Division foes, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne:
"I wouldn't call this a rivalry," Griffin said, per Fox Sports' Jovan Buha. "They're the better team. They have the upper hand."
"We know we’re close, but close isn’t good enough," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said, per CBS Sports NBA. "We gotta finish the games."
Rivers also addressed Lance Stephenson's DNP-Coach's Decision one game after the swingman played fewer than two minutes against the Detroit Pistons.
"He will [help us]," Rivers said of Stephenson, according to Golliver. "Just not right now."
