March 31st Los Angeles

by Jerry Feitelberg

What a great game. It was fast and furious and the outcome was in doubt until the final twelve seconds of the game but the Warriors came back from a seventeen point deficit in the second period to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-106

It was the Warriors tenth straight win and they won the last four games on the road. The Clippers were also playing great basketball as they came into the game having won seven in a row but the win streak ended Tuesday night. It did not start off well for the Warriors as they played a very poor first period. The Clippers opened the game with a 7-0 run and the Warriors were not playing very well on defense. Draymond Green did not play again tonight as he has a shin injury and David Lee started in his place.  The Warriors offense was not very good as they shot just 31% from the floor and they watched the Clippers All-Star, Blake Griffin, have a very strong first period as he went 6 for 7 from the floor for 12 points as the Clippers had the lead at 30-18 at the end of the first period.

For the first six minutes of the second period, it was more of the same. The Clippers led by Griffin and Chris Paul built the lead to 17. The Dubs woke up and started to chip away at the lead.  They closed the gap to nine with 4:20 left in the half and they did outscore the Clippers by five in the period, but they still trailed by seven at the end of the half 53-47.

The Warriors came to life in the third period. As they have done so many times this season. they got things going and they were able to actually take the lead for the first time 72-71 with about 5 minutes left in the period. The lead lasted about 20 seconds as the Clippers pushed back and had a six point lead 88-82 at the end of three periods of play. Klay Thompson got hot for the Warriors and at one stretch, Klay and Steph Curry accounted for 19 straight points. The Warriors scored 36 points in the period, but the Clippers kept them at bay.

In the fourth and final period of play, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run to put them ahead 91-88. The Clippers fought back and took a 94-91 lead, but Klay drained a 3-point shot to tie the game at 94. The game was tied again at 98 with 4:03 lefty in the game.  The Warriors went ahead 103-100 as Andre Iguodala was fouled attempting a 3-point shot and he made all three free throws to give the Dubs the lead for good. The score was 106-102 with 22 seconds left and the Clippers had the ball in the forecourt following a timeout. On the attempt to get the ball into play, the ball was mishandled by Chris Paul and the Clips were called for a backcourt violation and the ball went to the Dubs and that was the game. Final score 110-106.

Notes- The Warriors won their 10th straight game and are now 61-13 for the season. The Clippers are now 49-26.

Steph Curry led the Dubs in scoring wit 27points and he had 9 assists. Klay Thompson had a great second half and ended the evening with 25 points and 8 rebounds.  Andrew Bogut, who fouled out with 1:26 left in the game, was his usual defensive force as he had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 points. David Kee, starting just his second game of the year, pitched in with 17 and the Warrior bench led by Mo Speights, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa added 34. The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin’s 40 points. Chris paul knocked down 27 and J.J. Redick had 14. The Clipper bench did not provide any offense and Clipper coach, Doc Rivers, had his starters on the floor for most of the game.

Next up for the Warriors will be the Phoenix Suns Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 7:30pm and the Warriors will then go on another four-game road trip.