Clippers vs. Warriors: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The Golden State Warriors (40-7) have been the NBA's most prolific team by a solid margin since the start of 2017, and Stephen Curry made sure their momentum surge wouldn't be stopped by a bitter rival Saturday night. 

In one of their most convincing wins of the season, the Warriors throttled the Los Angeles Clippers 144-98 and improved to 11-2 in 2017. 

The dominant performance was anchored by a 2015-16 throwback effort from Curry, who resembled last season's unanimous MVP as he launched and converted audacious three-point attempts from all over the Oracle Arena hardwood. 

In 29 minutes, Curry compiled 43 points on 15-of-23 shooting, including 9-of-15 from three, to go with nine rebounds and six assists. Curry's onslaught allowed him to reach the 40-point plateau for the third time this season and first time since Jan. 6. 

Curry dropped 25 of his 43 points in the third quarter alone, but it's safe to say his most memorable bucket came at the second-quarter buzzer when his 51-foot heave found nothing but net: 

The Warriors entered halftime up 21 points following Curry's long-distance splash, and their lead only expanded from there with the Clippers short-handed at point guard sans Chris Paul, as the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami noted: 

Golden State went on to drop 45 points in the third quarter, which boosted the team's cumulative point total to 117 through 36 minutes. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that mark represented the most by any team this season through three quarters.  

With Curry in full highlight mode and Kevin Durant (23 points) and Klay Thompson (16 points) scorching beside him, there was simply no hope for the visitors, according to the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps: 

Shea Serrano of The Ringer was among those who marveled at the Warriors' ability to break away in an instant: 

While the Warriors were led by their trio of sensational scorers, the Clippers leaned on Blake Griffin—in his second game back from injury—to lead them to the tune of 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. 

That efficiency was a small silver lining, but the Clippers couldn't take away many other positives on a night when they shot 43.9 percent from the field, committed 14 turnovers and were ravaged in transition. 

Los Angeles has now lost two in a row and four of its last five dating back to Jan. 19. 

And while a backslide in Paul's absence was expected to some degree, losses to the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers over the past 10 days don't reflect positively on the team's supporting cast. 

The bad news is it's not going to get any easier. 

A showdown against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday will represent a brief reprieve for Doc Rivers' club, but a rematch against the Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back will represent a major challenge. 

Speaking of back-to-backs, the Warriors will return to the floor Sunday evening at Moda Center for a clash with the Portland Trail Blazers before the Charlotte Hornets pay a visit to the Bay Area on Wednesday. 

Postgame Reaction

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau, Kerr needed just three words to sum up Curry's third quarter: 

Kerr later broke down Curry's sensational showing in more depth, as Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group documented on Twitter: 

As for his second-quarter buzzer-beater, Curry provided some insight regarding his thought process on the heaves. 

"I love throwing up those however-far shots at the end of the buzzer just to see if it’ll go in," he said, per Letourneau. 

On the Clippers' side of things, Rivers told reporters he thought his side could have done a much better job of defending the reigning MVP, per 95.7 The Game on Twitter: 

"This is the worst loss probably in my career," J.J. Redick concluded, per 95.7 The Game's Bonta Hill.