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

Essentially everyone loses to the Golden State Warriors, but the Los Angeles Clippers have turned it into an art form.

The two-time defending Western Conference champions extended their winning streak to nine games over the Clippers with a convincing 133-120 victory Thursday at Staples Center. The Warriors moved to 43-7 with their fifth straight win, while Los Angeles dropped to 31-19 and 2-5 in its last seven games.

The one silver lining for the Clippers is the fact they were closer than the first two matchups this season when Golden State won 115-98 and 144-98. However, Thursday's final score was closer than the actual game thanks to a late spurt at the end after Golden State had the win all but clinched.

Seven different Warriors scored in double figures, led by Stephen Curry's 29. He also dished out 11 assists, while Kevin Durant just missed a triple-double with 26 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Klay Thompson added 21 points and seven boards, and the team as a whole shot 52.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range.

Golden State scored 133 points without Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, David West and Zaza Pachulia. It announced Green was out with a shoulder contusion, West was out with a fractured thumb and Pachulia was out with a rotator cuff strain. Livingston didn't play because of a mid-back strain.

The Clippers were shorthanded as well without Chris Paul, who is still out with a torn ligament in his thumb. That put more of the offensive onus on Blake Griffin, who responded with 31 points and eight rebounds. 

Jamal Crawford added 21 points off the bench, while Austin Rivers chipped in 18 points and six assists. J.J. Redick scored 17, but Los Angeles still didn't have enough to keep up with Golden State, especially with 15 turnovers.

Golden State wasted no time setting the tone and scored the game's first six points behind two quick Curry steals. Patrick McCaw extended the advantage to 11-4 with a three, but Thompson picked up his second foul less than four minutes in for the already shorthanded visitors.

Thompson going to the bench didn't do much for the Clippers in the opening quarter.

A Curry free throw after Jordan's technical foul stretched the lead to double digits, and the Warriors built a 33-22 advantage by the end of the first. Golden State attempted 12 more field goals than Los Angeles (27-15) in the quarter largely because of seven Clippers turnovers.

Griffin's 10 early points kept the Clippers within striking distance, but Josh Martin of Bleacher Report recognized a familiar pattern:

Los Angeles slowed the turnovers and opened the second quarter with a 9-2 spurt. Redick's three made it 35-31, but the momentum didn't last long against Golden State's lethal offense. Durant picked up some of the playmaking slack for Green and hit James Michael McAdoo for his fifth assist to push the lead to 45-34.

The Clippers didn't go away and answered with a 7-0 run to pull within 47-43, but Golden State turned to the deep ball. The next 12 Warriors points came on threes from Thompson (two), Curry and Durant, and the lead was double digits again.

Golden State took a 65-55 lead into the half, but Griffin at least gave the home fans something to cheer about by soaring over Kevon Looney:

Any lingering momentum from Griffin's slam didn't carry over into the third, as five straight Curry points helped the visitors open up a 15-point advantage at 74-59. The Warriors continued to keep the Clippers at bay early in the second half, and NBA analyst Nate Duncan pointed to a particularly effective offensive look:

Despite the Clippers' issues slowing down the always potent Golden State attack, Griffin continued to steamroll his way through a depleted front line to prevent a blowout. He scored five straight Clippers points before Rivers cut the lead to eight at 84-76.

As was the case throughout the game, the Warriors quickly answered. Durant scored four straight for his team and then assisted on Ian Clark's three after Marreese Speights came up short on a dunk.

That burst made it 94-78, and Andre Iguodala finished the quarter with a ridiculous scoop shot over Speights to give the Warriors plenty of breathing room at 104-87:

The game was virtually over for most of the fourth quarter, even after a small 5-0 run for the Clippers cut the lead to 115-100. Curry responded with a layup, assist to Clark and three-pointer, and it was suddenly 122-103 with less than six minutes remaining.

It was a metaphorical sequence late in the contest, as Los Angeles just didn't have enough to get over the hump against the Warriors whenever it closed the gap.

Rivers did just that with three straight baskets to trim the deficit to 124-114, and Crawford drilled a three to make it a seven-point game. However, Durant ended the run with a three, and Thompson's shot from downtown with just more than a minute left all but ended it at 130-119.

Postgame Reaction

Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News shared Warriors coach Steve Kerr's comments:

Slater also passed along some of Durant's postgame quotes:

What's Next?

The Warriors have a road game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday before returning home to face the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. The Bulls are .500 and the Kings are 19-30, so Golden State has a clear opportunity to extend its lead over the rest of the West.

The Clippers start a five-game road trip against the Boston Celtics on Sunday. They also face the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz on the trip and will look to bolster their position in the West with victories against Eastern Conference foes before playing Utah.