Warriors vs Clippers Recap: Game 3 Almost Doesn’t Live Up To Anticipation, Steph Curry Unable To Be The Hero (Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account)
ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — In case you couldn’t make it to #Roaracle last night, here are the sights and sounds from pre-game, to in-game, to post-game from last night’s Golden State Warriors 98-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1 of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
PRE-GAME
LOUD. PROUD. WARRIORS. That was the theme as set forth by the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
#DubNation was getting hyped up, jumping on any meme or funny graphic that would make fun of the Clippers.
At the pregame presser, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson gave an update on Festus Ezeli.
Jackson said that Ezeli won’t be back “anytime soon, meaning tonight or Sunday.” Ezeli is, apparently, cleared to do 5-on-0 drills after doing 1-on-1. The next step after 5-on-0 is 5-on-5.
At courtside, I saw Andre Iguodala and Jordan Crawford warming up. It would be their first taste of the playoffs at Oracle. Stephen Curry was also there, of course, with his pregame routine.
As I made my way to press row, the building was electring. The Warriors announced the same starting lineup as Games 1 and 2, with Jermaine O’Neal starting at center.
IN-GAME
The Warriors started out jittery. In the first quarter, they committed seven turnovers, three of them by, surprisingly, Draymond Green, who, besides Curry, had been perhaps the most consistent Warrior. The Clippers led 24-21 at the end of the first frame.
Midway through the second quarter, the Warriors still hadn’t put together a string of buckets and found themselves down, 34-29. Considering the fact that they were shooting a combined 12-for-34 from the field, 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and even a dismal 5-for-9 from the free throw line, being down five points didn’t seem all that bad.
At halftime, the Clippers maintained a slim lead, 46-43. The Warriors were still shooting poorly overall, 17-for-45, although they made a little run. Still, they were now 1-for-12 from three-point-land and had a total of ten turnovers. Moreover, Curry had just 4 points.
In the third quarter, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan imposed their will, blowing open a 16-point lead. With 6:36 remaining in the third, it was Clippers 63, Warriors 47.
With 3:53 to go in the period, the Warriors made a mini-run, albeit without any points from Curry, who still only had 7 points. The lead was trimmed to 68-57.
It was around this time when Oracle announced the attendance of former Warrior Jarrett Jack, as well as Brandon Rush and Kent Bazemore. Also spotted in the crowd were Michigan State University head coach Tom Izzo, NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein, and Barry Bonds.
The Warriors were still trying to break through the double-digit deficit barrier and cut the lead to 75-64 on an aesthetically pleasing slam dunk by Iguodala, and-one.
Golden State spent the better part of the fourth quarter playing catch-up. With 5:50 to go, the Warriors trimmed the lead to 8, 85-78, largely on the backs of four Warriors not named Curry (!) who were in double-figures scoring, led by Klay Thompson.
With just seconds on the clock, the Warriors found themselves down just two, 98-96, got the ball to Curry, who missed the potential game-tying long jumper (his foot was on the three-point line). The Warriors lost a nailbiter, a game in which they had no business being in.
POST-GAME
After the game, Coach Jackson talked about the hesitancy of the Warriors, save for Thompson, when attacking the rim against Jordan, who had recorded five blocked shots.
Curry thought his last shot was a foul on Chris Paul.
“I’m sure they were looking at my arm, see if I got hit,” Curry said, “but a lot more going on than that.”
Green wasn’t happy with the team’s performance.
“When you’re at home, you want to put them in that position where they need the tough shot to win the basketball game, not us,” Green said, “We can’t have that lapse.”
Thompson said of Jordan, “We can’t let him get that many opportunities on that offensive glass.”
Iguodala said the Warriors “see some things we can exploit and try to hurt ’em…we can’t wait til Sunday.”
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