Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, knocks the ball lose from Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, center, as he is defended by forward Draymond Green, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Los Angeles – The Warriors played their best game of the year as they defeated the Clippers for the 11th straight time by a score of 141-113.
The Clippers lost guards Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and sixth man Jamal Crawford in the offseason. They were replaced by Patrick Beverly, Danilo Gallinari, and Lou Williams. The Clippers had eleven new players on the roster for coach Doc Rivers, but the result was the same. They lost to the Warriors.
The first quarter was fairly competitive. The teams were tied 20-20 when the Warriors started to take charge. Shaun Livingston made the next bucket to make it 22-20, and the Warriors began to pull away. They increased the lead to six at the end of the period 34-28. Ja Vale McGee knocked down a couple of lobs, and the Warriors were now in control.
The Dubs scored forty points in the second quarter and led by 17 at the half. They were making all the shots as they were 60% from the floor. Everyone was playing well, and the team committed just four turnovers in the first 24 minutes. Steph Curry led the scoring with 16 points. Draymond had 13, Kevin Durant 14, and Klay Thompson had 11. The leading scorers for LA were Blake Griffin 10, Gallinari, 12, Beverly 6, DeAndre Jordan 6, Lou Williams 6, and Wesley Johnson 6. The score at the half was 74-57.
The Clippers went on a 10-2 run to start the second half. However, the Warriors regained their composure after the Clippers closed the deficit to just nine. The Warriors behind the stellar play of Steph Curry went on a 13-1 run near the end of the third quarter, and they finished the period with a twenty-one point lead 107-86.
The Warriors increased the lead to twenty-five 120-95 and then Coach Steve Kerr turned the game over to the bench. Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw, Omri Casspi, Nick Young were on the floor with David West or Ja Vale McGee, and they coasted to the win. The final score was 141-113.
Game Notes and Stats – Steph led the Warriors with 31 points. Draymond Green had his best performance of the year with 16 points,6 assists, 9 rebounds, and one blocked shot. KD had 19, Klay added 15. Klay hit a three-point shot to extend his streak to 62 consecutive games. The bench performed well as they scored 54 points. Blake Griffin 16, Gallinari 19, Beverly 14, Jordan 10, and Lou Williams 17 were the Clippers scorers.
The Warriors recorded 37 assists and on defense had 46 rebounds, 8 steals, and 8 blocks. The Warriors made 14 three-point shots in 29 attempts and committed just 12 turnovers for the entire game.
The Warriors improve to 5-3 while LA drops to 4-2. The Warriors travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs Thursday night. Game time is at 5 pm.
