HALFTIME RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS: Stephen Curry Scores 14 Points, Warriors Lead Los Angeles Clippers, 51-49

ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Two nights after beating the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, the Golden State Warriors (63-7) were back home to face the Los Angeles Clippers (43-26).

The Warriors listed Andrew Bogut (toe) as “questionable”, then announced him as a starter. Kevon Looney (hip) was listed as “probable”. Festus Ezeli (knee) and Andre Iguodala (ankle) were listed as “out”.

Blake Griffin was out for the Clippers with a right hand fracture and partially torn left quad tendon.

1st Quarter –

Stephen Curry got the first spark going as he foiled a trademark fake-step-back jumper by Paul Pierce by stripping the ball from him and getting a breakaway layup:

.@StephenCurry30 steals and scores on ESPN & CSNBA! pic.twitter.com/vBut2Stzbp

— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) March 24, 2016

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J.J. Redick, however, hit his first triple attempt:

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Redick’s counterpart, Klay Thompson, made one of his first three jumpers:

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Later, Curry almost took a charge on Chris Paul but the dribble on the perimeter was whistled a blocking foul on Steph, much to his dismay, sitting on the floor before getting up:

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The Warriors were a bit disjointed to start, with plays like this turnover by Thompson:

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But Draymond Green eventually ended that sequence with a coast-to-coast layup on the left side after DeAndre Jordan’s layup attempt got blocked by Bogut:

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Harrison Barnes made a nice upfake and lay-in versus Jordan on the rim, on a nice entry laser from Klay, but Paul found Jeff Green on a cut, and the game remained close in the beginning, “nutmegging” Thompson in the process:

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Barnes then missed a long two, Bogut got the offensive rebound, handed off to Curry tailing to the right corner, and Steph drilled the three, putting the Warriors up, 13-12:

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Jeff Green answered with a three as Draymond had to help on Jordan…

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…and Clippers head coach Doc Rivers took the first timeout with 4:50 shortly thereafter.

Leandro Barbosa came in and promptly drilled a three, Curry went by the entire Los Angeles defense for a layup…

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…and Jeff Green got stripped by Draymond, who then hit Barbosa for a touchdown pass:

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But Jamal Crawford bursted past Draymond, then fed Wesley Johnson for a layup, then Crawford hit a triple with 6.7 seconds remaining to put the Clippers up, 28-20.

However, Steph turned the tables as he went the length of the court quickly, and with 2.1 seconds to play, got this driving bucket:

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The Clippers took a 28-28 lead heading into the second stanza, as Curry, who shot 4-for-7 from the field, and Jeff Green led all scorers with 9 points. Crawford had 7 points off the bench for Los Angeles and Paul had 4 assists, while Draymond added 5 rebounds.

2nd Quarter –

The bench unit once again did their job and then some as Shaun Livingston picked up an offensive rebound and promptly rattled in a jumper from the free throw line, and Marreese Speights drained a triple from the top, assisted by Barnes.

After Barnes committed a turnover trying to zing a pass that went straight into the Clippers’ hands under the rim, resulting in this layup by Austin Rivers…

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…Kerr called a timeout as Los Angeles took a 30-28 lead with 9:35 left.

Out of the timeout, Livingston got an “and-one” on the right side with a turnaround jumper, Barnes added a three…

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…and Livingston another jumper and Golden State sprinted out to a 39-32 lead with 7:51 remaining and Rivers took a timeout to stop the bleeding with his second unit.

The momentum shifted back towards the Clippers out of the timeout, as Jordan got a thunderous dunk…

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…Klay hit a three from the right arc, but Crawford answered with a three of his own from the deep left wing, Livingston getting whistled for an “and-one” on the slap, which he didn’t agree with.

After Curry missed from straightaway downtown, Paul came down in transition and fed Jordan for another jam, and the Warriors’ lead evaporated to 44-43 with 4:04 to play.

Bogut finally stemmed the tide with a nice entry pass into Curry at the rim for a lay-in:

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After another timeout, Redick went backdoor with the feed from Crawford, but Steph toyed with Jordan outside the arc:

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That gave Golden State a 51-46 lead with 1:53 left, but Curry missed a heat-check after that, and both teams couldn’t find the bucket until Pierce hit a three with about 15 seconds to play, to close the Warriors’ lead to 51-49.

On the last possession of the half, Draymond had a live dribble and tried his best to wait until Curry could use a screen on the deep right side, but Paul wouldn’t let him free, so Draymond took the ball down the left side of the lane for a floater over Jordan, but back-rimmed it at the buzzer.

Curry led all scorers with 14 points on 6-for-12 field, while Barnes added 11 points, plus Livingston with 7 points off the bench. Crawford led the Clippers with 10 points, Jordan had 8 points, 12 rebounds, and Paul 5 assists.

Draymond had 7 boards, but just 4 points and 1 assist. Bogut led the Warriors with 4 assists.

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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @ladyjessop)