Tag: Los Angeles Clippers

Warriors falter in fourth quarter fall to Clippers 109-100

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sfgate.com photo: Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, left, passes the ball as Golden State Warriors guard Ky Bowman defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in Los Angeles

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still without D’Angelo Russell and Kevon Looney, gave the Los Angeles Clippers all they could handle for three quarters Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Omari Spellman made his first start in the NBA and continued to play well for the Warriors.

Spellman had his fourth consecutive game in double-figures, and it appears that he will see a lot more action in the upcoming games. The Clippers, who blew out the Warriors on opening night at the first game ever at the Chase Center, figured they would have no trouble beating the revamped lineup.

They were wrong, and they trailed the Warriors by ten at the end of three periods by a score of 83-73. The young Warriors felt they had an upset in the making, but the Clippers behind Kawhi Leonard, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams found their game, and they were able to propel the Clippers to a 109-100 win.

In the first quarter, the Clippers got off to an early 18-9 lead. The Warriors’ Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson, and Willie Cauley-Stein all made contributions, and the Warriors erased the deficit to tie the game at 20. The Clippers made the last basket of the quarter leading 22-20.

The Warriors found their game in the second quarter. They outscored the Clippers 33-26 to finish the first half leading 53-48. Spellman made two threes to help pace the Warriors to the five-point advantage. Glenn Robinson led the Warriors with 13. Spellman had 11.

Kawhi Leonard paced the Clippers with 15. Leonard was the only Clipper in double-figures in the first half. The Warriors played well on defense to stymie the Clipper offense. The W’s shot 43% from the floor in the half but were 4-for-19 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Clippers went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. LA erased the five-point deficit to lead by two 55-53. The Warriors regrouped and led 68-62 when Draymond Green knocked down a three. Reserve guard Jacob Evans made three mid-range jumpers to help send the Warriors to a 10-point lead 83-73 after three-quarters of play.

The Clippers are a team that will be in the playoffs. They know how to win games. Their star player, Kawhi Leonard, won the NBA Championship last year when he was a Toronto Raptor. He is excellent in crunch time. His teammates, Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams, Patrick Beverly, and Mo Harkless, have been around the block a few times, and Friday night’s game was not their first rodeo.

The Clippers showed the young Warriors that if they want to win in the NBA, they have to stop their opponent’s big guns. They tried but could not shut down the Clipper offense. The Clippers went on a 13-2 run to open the quarter to lead 87-85. The Warriors never led again. They came close, but Kawhi Leonard and Company outscored them 36-17 in the quarter  to win 109-100,

Game Notes and stats- The Warriors dropped their seventh game in a row and are now 9-31 for the season. The Clippers improved to 27-12. The Clippers’ Paul George did not play due to a hamstring injury.

The Warriors played well on defense the entire game. They also did an excellent job rebounding. The Warriors had trouble making three-point shots. They made eight in 39 tries. Spellman accounted for four of them. Spellman and Robinson led the Warriors with 17 points each. Alec Burks had 16, Eric Paschall 12, and Damion Lee 10.

Kawhi Leonard finished the night with 36. He had nine boards and five assists. Patrick Beverly just missed a triple-double. Beverly had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. He made three threes, too. Montrezl Harrell finished with 11 pints and 10 boards for a double-double. Lou Williams, coming off the bench, tallied 21. He made three threes in six tries.

The Warriors resume play on Sunday in Memphis against the Grizzlies. The game will start at 3 pm. Pacific Time

 

Sacramento Kings Tuesday game wrap: Clippers hand Kings 8th straight loss 105-87

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@LAClippers photo: The Los Angeles Clippers dressed up in Buffalo Braves jerseys on throw back uniform night Tuesday at Golden One Center against the Sacramento Kings as Derrick Walton Jr (10) left congratulates Landry Shamet (20)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–It was a David and Goliath matchup at Golden One Center on Tuesday at 2 PM PST. The struggling Sacramento Kings who are 12-21 on the year, went up against the mighty LA Clippers who were 23-11 on the season. The vibes were nervous, to say the least at Golden One Center as the Kings prepared to take on the Clippers and try and snap the teams seven-game losing streak.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out a bit flat. They only managed 23 points on 41.2% shooting from the field. Buddy Hield was the lone bright spot for the Kings offense in the first who scored 12 points on 4-5 shooting. The Clippers also seemed a bit flat coming out for the 2 PM contest. The Clippers managed to score 28 points on 47.8% shooting with Kawhi Leonard leading the way with 5 points.

In the second quarter, the Clippers began to extend the lead. Paul George began hitting his shots to end the half with 11 points. The Clippers scored 29 in the second to take a 57-40 lead into halftime. The Kings, led by Buddy Hield who had 12 points, managed to score 40 points in the second.

The rest of the offense with the exclusion of Richuan Holmes struggled. Holmes dropped 14 points in the first half, but the rest of the Kings were all under four points. The Kings had a lot of work in front of them to come back from a 57-40 deficit in the second half.

In the third, the Kings bounced back. They outscored the Clippers 33-31 in the quarter to slightly cut into the deficit. The Kings played fast and were able to get some easy buckets against a great defensive team. Kawhi Leonard carried the Clippers in the third scoring 14 points. The Kings continued to get stellar play from Richuan Holmes. Holmes scored 6 more points in the third to lead the Kings.

In the fourth, the Clippers put the game away. Sacramento’s shot just would not fall in the last quarter. They had a number of good looks but were unable to convert. Both teams shot 41% from the field but the Clippers shot 33% from three compared to the Kings 29%.

The Kings shot a disappointing 68% from the free-throw line compared to the Clippers 95%. That right there was your game. The Kings dropped their eighth consecutive game and to 12-22 on the year. The leading scorers for the victorious Clippers were Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with 24 and 21 points respectively. Leading the Kings in defeat was Richaun Holmes who was spectacular. Holmes scored 22 points on 8-13 shooting.

In what has been a rough season so far for the Kings, we flip the calendar to 2020. Kings players and coaches inferred to that fact postgame. Head coach Luke Walton said postgame, “It’s going to be a better year, 2020.” Shooting guard Buddy Hield echoed those sentiments in the locker room saying, “It’s go time – it’s a new year.

Were [34] games in so we have about [48] left – it’s go time. We can’t wait anymore.” For Kings fans, they hope that is true. Kings fans hope that same urgency will carry over into the new year. 2019 turned out to be a very disappointing year for Kings. Unfortunately, Kings fans have been disappointed for all of the 2010s. Here’s to a more successful decade in Sacramento for Kings fans!

Up Next: Kings stay home to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday at 7 PM PST

Lakers put down Warriors 120-94; 5th straight loss for S.F. team

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photo from sfgate.com: Golden State Warriors’ D’Angelo Russell, right, dribbles around Los Angeles Lakers’ Avery Bradley, center, on a screen from Draymond Green during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 13

By Jerry Feitelberg

The undermanned Golden State Warriors fell to the bigger Los Angeles Lakers in LA on Wednesday night by a score of 120-94. The Warriors, down to nine healthy players due to the injury to Damian Lee’s hand, gave the Lakers a tussle for about the first six minutes of play in the first quarter. The Lakers were too big, and the Warriors could not protect the rim.

The Warriors, still without Steph Curry, Kevon Looney, Alen Smailagic, Are having a painful time scoring points and keeping the opposition from scoring. The Warriors are now 2-10 for the year. The silver lining is that the young players are learning on the job how to play in the NBA.

In the first quarter, with the Warriors trailing 17-15, the Lakers went on a 12-0 run to make it 29-15. They continued to outplay the young Warriors and finished the quarter with a 12-point lead 38-26. The Warriors kept pace with the Lakers in the second quarter. Each team scored 29 points, and the Lakers finished the first half leading by 12 points 67-55. The Warriors’ scoring was led by D’Angelo Russell with 17. Eric Paschall was second with 9, and Willie Cauley-Stein had eight. LeBron James led the Lakers with 19. Kyle Kuzman and Dwight Howard each had 9.

The Lakers went on a 10-2 run early in the third period to increase the lead to nineteen 79-60. The Warriors could not get anything going, and the quarter ended with LA in control 98-82. The Lakers outscored the Warriors 22-12 in the fourth quarter to win by twenty-six 120-94.

Game Notes: The Warriors, as mentioned above, played the game with nine healthy players. The Dubs hade five players in double figures. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 21. Rookie Eric Paschall continued to impress everyone with play as he recorded 15 points and three rebounds. Jordan Poole had 11. Cauley-Stein and Draymond Green each had ten. Alec Burks, coming off the bench, had nine.

The Lakers also had five players in double figures. LeBron James, in 26 minutes of action, knocked down 23 points, 6 boards, and 12 assists. Kyle Kuzma had 22. Former Warrior JaVale McGee also had a big night as he torched his old mates for 18points and 17 rebounds. Big Dwight Howard contributed 15 in helper the Lakers win. Former Warrior Quinn Cook finished with 10.

The stats showed the Warriors shot 40.5% from the floor. They made 36 buckets in 89 tries. The Lakers had the same number of shots, but they made 48. They were 54% from the floor. The Lakers outrebounded the Warriors 51-33.  The Lakers improved to 9-2 for the year.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face another tough opponent, the Boston Celtics, Friday night at the Chase Center. The Celtics have won nine in a row and are 9-1 for the season. The game will be at 7:30 pm

Warriors lose to Clippers in home opener 141-122

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors hosted their first regular season game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Chase Center Thursday night.

Al Attles was in attendance. Attles played with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors from 1960-71 and coached the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors from 1970-83. The 82-year-old was a 1975 NBA champion.

Warriors star Steph Curry rocked his Under Armour shoes when the team practiced before the tip-off. Curry is in his 11th NBA season and Under Armour pre-released the latest edition of the “Curry 7” at the Warriors Team Shop in the Chase Center.

Curry’s first bucket at the Chase Center wowed the home crowd. The Warriors pulled within six with 4:56 left in the first quarter. The Warriors ended up trailing the Clippers 35-29 at the end of the first.

Jordan Poole hit his first three-pointer in the league to help the Warriors pull within seven with 10:27 left in the second quarter. Poole, a rookie shooting guard, was drafted 28th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft out of the University of Michigan. The 20-year-old played at Michigan from 2017-19.

Curry continued to make magic on the home court. The 31-year-old picked off a pass from Draymond Green and proceeded to hit a three to bring the team within seven with 2:41 left in the second.

Despite noteworthy moments, Golden State trailed L.A. 65-54 at the halftime break. During that time, Golden State confirmed that Kevon Looney wouldn’t return to the game as a precautionary measure after experiencing right hamstring tightness.

The Clippers continued to dominate in the third quarter. The Clippers’ highest scoring bench duo of all-time put in a lot of work. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell had chemistry and worked together to make strong scoring plays. Also, Kawhi Leonard, who signed with the Clippers just days after winning his first champion with the Toronto Raptors and second overall, put on a primetime show. Leonard picked up a foul, made a play off the glass over a Warrior defender for two late in the third.

The Clippers fired on all cylinders for a 111-87 lead through three quarters.

The Warriors showed some flashes in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. Glenn Robinson III made a nifty move by running down the court and driving to the basket for two with 5:24 left in the fourth.

The Clippers won 141-122. L.A. improves to 2-0, while Golden State falls to 0-1.

The Warriors face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, October 27 at 12:30 pm PT. Game will be broadcasted on NSBA and FSOK.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Russell’s value for Golden State; How Cousins fits at the Lakers; plus more

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On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria:

#1. How much will the acquisition of DeAngelo Russell & Willie Cauley-Stein mean for Golden State?

#2 The Lakers are happy in picking up DeMarcus Cousins how much of a big piece of the puzzle and how much does he look forward to working with LeBron?

#3 The Miami Heat are rumored to picking up Russell Westbrook from the OKC Thunder. How badly does Westbrook want to go to Miami?

#4 Tony talks about the Oakland Raiders picking up running back Josh Jacobs and linebacker Te’Von Coney.

#5 How serious will the San Francisco Giants be about dealing pitcher Madison Bumgarner and reliever Will Smith  before the trade deadline?

#6 Kahwi Leonard signed a three-year, $103 million deal with the Clippers and the contract calls for a player option in his third year.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors eliminate Clippers with 129-110 win in Game 6

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

It was a Game 6 showdown in LA on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors looked to close out the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

Alfonzo McKinnie has taken a unique route to the NBA. The 26-year-old forward has paid for a G-League tryout, made stops to play 3×3 with international teams and played 14 games with the Toronto Raptors. Now, he has played in 5 playoff games with the Warriors and averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds, including 1 offensive rebound, in just under 10 minutes of action per game.

In case you missed it, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history to reach 400 career postseason 3-pointers. Check out some of his best postseason 3s in the video below.

The Warriors reportedly talk about resiliency all the time, so they said it should be there Friday.

When asked about his mentality on Game 6, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said: “It’s human nature, as we just talked about. You get threatened, you lose, you don’t sleep that well, you can’t wait for the next game.”

“You win a couple on the road, you get a little happy, a little comfortable, and you lose your edge, and that’s all it takes. So, we’ll have our edge back tonight.”

Turns out, Golden State had resiliency in Game 6.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Livingston started for the Warriors over Bogut. Livingston started his first career playoff game since 2016.

The Warriors started off slow, but fought back. The Clippers were up 7-2 at 10:26 of the first quarter, but Kevin Durant made a mid-range shot to reduce the deficit to 3. However, LAC went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead over GS with 6:14 left in the first.

GS, however, picked up the pace and reduced the deficit to 4 with 5:18 left in the first. Durant had 8 points and 1 rebound at the time. Also, the Warrior defense converted into offense, which helped the cause. The Warriors used a 12-2 run to regain the lead 24-23 with 3:41 left in the first.

The Warriors stormed back for a 35-31 lead at the end of the first.

Kevin Durant made quite a few buckets, and as a result, put on a scoring clinic in the second quarter. The Warriors led 48-42 with 5:40 left in the second. Aside from Durant, Kevon Looney got a good amount of lobs in the second.

The Warriors’ largest lead was 59-47 with 3:09 left in the second. Kevin Durant made a pair of free throws, Andre Igoudala blocked a Clipper shot and the Warriors led 72-53 at the break.

Tonight, it wasn’t so much about the Splash Brothers, but Kevin Durant and Steph Curry instead. The Warriors maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. LAC went on a 18-8 run over five minutes, but Klay Thompson ended the Clipper run with a field goal. The Warriors led 84-71 with 4:45 left in the third.

Andre Iguodala threw down a one-handed dunk to extend the Warrior lead to 89-71 with 3:21 left in the third. Moreover, Kevin Durant became No. 9 in NBA Playoffs history for number of 3-pointers and set a new career playoff high with 46 points tonight (14 of 22 FG, 6 of 12 3FG).

Kevin Durant continued to make history with his 50th point with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Andre Iguodala picked up the ball from a Clippers defender, spotted Steph Curry wide-open, Curry threw it back to Iguodala, who threw down a dunk that hit the rim. In addition, Green recorded a triple double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors won by a final score of 129-110.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The Warriors play the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: What went wrong with Golden State? Clippers just a little better in the end; Did LA pick up on Warrior defense?

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Photo credit: @theScoreNBA

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Warriors tried and tried to stay ahead of the Clippers on Wednesday night in Oakland, but fell just a few points short in the end. Was it a matter of the Clippers were the better team or was it a matter of the Warriors just had a close but off night?

#2 In a game when your short some seven or eight points, what lacked from the Warriors’ skill set? Were guys letting up or the Clippers were setting up the shot without the pressure and through these playoffs the Clips were able to learn some weaknesses in the Warrior defense?

#3 It was no doubt a team effort by LA from Lou Williams (33 pts), Danilo Gallinari (26 pits), and Montrezl Harrell (24 pts), who led the Clips in scoring.

#4 The Clips are down 3-2 in the series, but you never know what team is going to show up. They came back and erased a 31-point lead by Golden State in Game 2 and they held on in Oakland to win by eight 129-121 on Wednesday night to win Game 5. Is this a fluke or they can come out and do it again?

#5 On the Warriors side, Kevin Durant came out with 45 points, Stephen Curry with 24 pts and Klay Thompson with 22 points. Some nights you can do all you can, but you just end up short. These guys put it all out there on Wednesday.

#6 Lastly in NBA news, did Magic Johnson’s resignation as Los Angeles Lakers team president take you by surprise? He reportedly left  because he saw a negative email that was blindly Bcc’d to him that was written between team owner Jeannie Buss and team general manager Rob Pelinka that said Magic wasn’t getting the job done. Magic decided it was time to resign and met with the media to make the announcement without first giving notice to Buss or Pelinka.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors lose to Clippers 129-121 in Game 5

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors held a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs. It was clear the Warriors didn’t want to blow a 3-1 lead like they did to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid recently joked about the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in a postgame press conference. Warriors big man Andrew Bogut, who was part of the Warrior squad who lost to the Cavs in 2016, responded to Embiid’s joke in his column for Yahoo Sports Australia.

“Joel Embiid saying the 76ers don’t want to do what we did in the 2016 Finals is just Joel being Joel — he’s a bit of a larrikin,” Bogut wrote. “But they have to get to a Finals series first before they can even think about doing that.”

“It’s been a funny talking point for a lot of people in the league. But we haven’t taken any notice of it and it’s not something that’s been mentioned in the locker room.”

Sure, Philadelphia eliminated the Brooklyn Nets 3-1, but the Sixers are a long ways away from the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy. We’ll see how things go in the City of Brotherly Love.

In the meantime, Golden State was more than ready to go for Game 5 at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night. Before the game, Draymond Green said: “We just got to come out with the mindset that it’s 48 minutes. Stay the course, no matter what.”

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bogut is open to another Australia-NBA season. Bogut has a verbal agreement to play for the 2019-20 Sydney Kings, and if given the opportunity to return to the NBA, he’d do so after honoring his commitment.

The first quarter remained in close scores, but the Warriors had something to smile about. Kevin Durant poured in the points, recorded his 3,776th career playoff point and passed John Havlicek for 12th on the NBA Playoffs’ all-time career scoring list.

Kevin Durant had back-to-back buckets along with 12 points in the first quarter. But Durant’s performance wasn’t the only highlight in the first quarter. Steph Curry found Andre Iguodala, who passed the ball to Alfonzo McKinnie, who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer beater to extend the Warriors’ lead to 41-37 to wrap up the first quarter.

Patrick Beverley led the Clippers in points, rebounds and assists in the first. Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell kept things up in the second quarter to give the Warriors fits. The Warriors trailed 71-63 at the end of the first half.

Kevin Durant continued to hammer it home in the third quarter. Also, Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 87-78 with 6:25 left in the third quarter. But the Clippers built up a 10-point lead and wrapped up the third quarter with a 104-94 lead, so the Warriors had some work to do in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors were off to a good start to open the fourth quarter.

Check out the Warriors’ 4-point play:

The Warriors were down by 6 with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. However, Steph Curry helped the Warriors out of the flop with a 2-point bucket to cut the deficit to 114-110 with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant knocked down a few jumpers. The Warriors tied the game 116-116 with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers weren’t ready to back down just yet. Golden State got their first lead of the game since the first half, but LA regained the lead 125-118 with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 125-121 with 20.6 seconds, but Danilo Gallinari made a pair of free throws to cap off the scoring. The Warriors (3-2) lost to the Clippers (2-3) by a final score of 129-121.

Despite the Warriors’ loss, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history knock down 400 career playoff 3s.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats:

Game 6 will be played at the Staples Center on Friday, April 26. The time has yet to be determined. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, NSBA and FSPT.

Warriors defeat Clippers 113-105 for back-to-back road wins

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors had hoped to take a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Sunday. The Warriors didn’t want to repeat their blowing of a 31-point lead in Game 2 at Oracle Arena last Monday.

The Warriors were ready for the game. Golden State’s starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Bogut.

Klay Thompson got the party started with a pump fake at the 10:55 mark of the first quarter. Thompson made seven straight buckets, too. Kevin Durant continued making his buckets, which gave him the nickname “Buckets” — but most, if not all, of us would mind if he went by that nickname. Durant and Draymond Green played a major role in the Warrior defense. The Warriors led 33-22 at the end of the first.

Steph Curry rang in the second quarter with a three-pointer off a pass from Kevon Looney. Kevin Durant and Danilo Gallinari had a conversation, and although it was unclear what the two were discussing, Gallinari made a pair of free throws, so I doubt it had anything to do with the Warriors. However, Durant did pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 13th place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list with 3,756 points.

The shot clock expired with 1:05 left in the second, and the Clippers reduced their deficit by six, trailing 58-52 with one minute left. Los Angeles added two points to make it 58-54, but Golden State added four points for a 62-54 lead to close out the first half.

The Clippers not only reduced their deficit in the third quarter, they also got past the Warriors 82-77 for their largest lead of the game with 3:57 left in the third. But the Warriors tied the game 82-82 at the two-minute warning. Steph Curry hit a three to make it 85-82 with less than two minutes remaining. LA made it a one-point game, but that was short-lived as Golden State added two points for a 87-84 lead at the end of the third.

After a short break, Golden State returned to the court ready to take over. Andrew Bogut made a pass to Andre Iguodala, who threw the shot down the rim for a 94-88 lead with 9:012 left in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson proved to be money, and as expected, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant teamed up to create assists and points, respectively. The Warriors (3-1) won the game 113-105 for back-to-back road wins over the Clippers (1-3).

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below:

The series shifts to Oracle Arena for Game 5 Wednesday. Game time to be announced later on.

Kevin Durant was trustworthy in Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Clippers

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Photo credit: @usatodaypost2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Can the notion that Kevin Durant can’t be trusted as a Golden State Warrior be buried six feet under?

Ever since the Warriors surrendered a historic 31-point lead on Monday night to the Clippers which allowed Los Angeles to steal Game 2 with a 135-131 victory that tied the first-round series 1-1, all the talk was the amount of shots that Durant took (8), the amount of turnovers he committed (9), and that Clippers defensive point guard Patrick Beverley was in his head.

Well, Durant exploded and was indeed trustworthy in Game 3, scoring a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Golden State Warriors to a commanding 132-105 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Durant finished with seven assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.

Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Golden State came out firing in the first quarter, jumping all over Los Angeles with a 22-9 run while shooting a blistering 73-percent from the floor. The Warriors took the crowd out of the game early and just dominated the Clippers wire-to-wire.

Durant was a major reason for such an emphatic response by Golden State in Game 3, drilling his first five shots and both his free throws for 12 points in the first quarter. Along with Stephen Curry’s 13 points, Golden State built a 19-point lead before the Clippers blinked. Both Durant and Curry picked up two fouls early.

Curry finished with 21 points, but was whistled for five fouls total.

By halftime with the Warriors holding a commanding 73-52 lead, Durant had 27 points on 10-of-15 field goals, tying a postseason career-high.

Golden State put the game out of reach once Curry drew his fourth foul in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 14 straight points to lead 88-57.

The lead grew up to as much as 35 points for the Warriors, thanks to Alfonzo McKinnie’s 3-pointer late in the quarter.

The real story was Durant, who had to hear that the aforementioned Beverley was in his head for the past three days. Durant torched the Clippers and Beverley for 30 minutes on Thursday night that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

It’s safe to say that had Durant played in the fourth quarter, he would’ve dropped 40 points easily.

Heck, 50 points wouldn’t been out of the question.