Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Cury (30) passes the ball against the Los Angeles Clippers forward Terrance Mann (right) and center Ivica Zubac (left) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Nov 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, smarting from the 124-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night, bounced back to play a complete game on both ends to defeat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, 120-114. The Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Clippers scored 130 points and came into town intending to beat the Warriors. The Warriors were without three key players:

• Chris Paul was out with soreness in his knee.
• Andrew Wiggins injured a finger and was unavailable.
• Gary Payton II suffered a torn calf muscle and is out indefinitely. 

Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, inserted Moses Moody into the starting unit instead of Wiggins. Kerr’s second unit consisted of Dario Saric, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandon Podziemski, and Cory Joseph. The Warriors found the right combination, as they had seven players in double-figures, and Warriors stopped committing turnovers and too many fouls. The Warriors went on to win 124-114.

The Clippers are in the top five defensive units in the NBA. They also have players that can light up the board. Future Hall of Fame players Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook led the Clipper’s offense. The Clippers had Ivica Zubac and Daniel Theis in their lineup as rim protectors. The Warriors knew they were in for a dogfight.

The first quarter went to the Warriors, 31-24. The game was tied at 22-22 when the Warriors went on a 7-2 run to finish the quarter. The Warriors committed just two turnovers in the first 12 minutes. As they did in the game against the Kings, the Warriors played well and increased the lead to 11 at the end of the quarter.

The Warriors led 61-50. Warrior guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were not the leading scorers in the first half. Curry and Thompson each had seven points. The leading scorers were Draymond Green, Saric, and Podzienski, scoring ten points each. The Warriors made ten threes in 22 tries to give them the 11-point lead. Leonard led the Clippers with 12, Zabac had 11, and James “the Beard” Harden added 10.

The Clippers knew the Warriors were beaten by the Kinds in the second half of the game Tuesday night in Sacramento. They score the first four points to start the third quarter. Curry answered with a three. The Warriors went back up by 11, 71-60. The rest of the quarter was nip and tuck. The Clippers won the quarter by two points to finish trailing by nine, 86-77.

The second unit, plus Thompson, was on the floor to start the fourth quarter. Thompson led the Warriors with ten points to lead by 13, 99-86. The Clippers didn’t fold. They came back behind the efforts of Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Leonard.

The Clippers were down by five, 105-100. Buckets by Curry and Moses Moody gave the Warriors the lead 115-107 with less than a minute to play. The Clippers fouled Curry to get the ball, but their tactics failed as the Warriors won 120-114.

Game Notes: The date of Thursday night’s game was remarkable. The date of 11-30-23 are the numbers of Thompson, Curry, and Green. All three players are in the 12th season together and will be going into the NBA’s Hall of Fame. 

With the win, the Warriors improved to 9-10. The Clippers fall to 8-10.

Curry finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and three threes in nine tries. Thompson’s numbers were 22 points, six rebounds, and two threes. Kuminga had a big night. Kuminga, coming off the bench, recorded 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three threes. Green, Saric, Moody, and Podziemski added 13 points each. The Warriors’ bench outscored the Clipper bench 44-31.

The Warriors committed seven turnovers, a major improvement from Tuesday night. They allowed the Clippers 24 free throws on Tuesday night, and the Kings went to the line 42 times.

The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 60-48, and made 30 assists on 41 baskets. As mentioned above, it was a complete game on both ends of the court.

The Warriors meet the Clippers in LA on Saturday afternoon. The game will start at 1 p.m