ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — The Los Angeles Clippers (4-0) were in town to face the Golden State Warriors in a marquee matchup of two of the NBA’s undefeated teams, renewing their brewing rivalry.
Andrew Bogut was still out with a concussion for the Warriors. Also, Kevon Looney continued rehabilitation of his surgically repaired hip. The Clippers were at full strength.
1st Quarter – Curry Gets Two Early Fouls But Warriors Hold Ground
Playoff atmosphere filled Oracle as #WarriorsGround was loud and proud as the Warriors took the floor.
Stephen Curry got off to a good start by hitting a three from the top that hit the front rim, backboard, then back in, after Draymond Green missed a triple and Harrison Barnes got the offensive board.
Blake Griffin made two early costly turnovers and Festus Ezeli impacted the game immediately, getting an up-fake slam inside thanks to Curry driving hard right past the physical defensive drape of Chris Paul.
Klay Thompson also started off well, getting two straight post-up attempts in one sequence and rattling home the baseline turnaround over the smaller J.J. Redick.
But Curry fouled DeAndre Jordan on an inside move, then Paul posted up Curry and drew another one right after that, spinning baseline, and Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton had no choice but to sub in Shaun Livingston, even as Thompson came over to tell Curry to switch over on Redick.
Ezeli then got this blocked shot against Griffin:
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RT @CBSSportsNBA: WATCH: Warriors' Festus Ezeli blocks Blake Griffin's dunk attempt https://t.co/vsckWtOFk7 pic.twitter.com/ClNiWjGULF
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) November 5, 2015
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Oracle got loud — playoff loud — and Green got a runner down the lane to make it 10-9, Clippers, early.
That block must have gotten Ezeli to go into #ReleaseTheKraken mode because he got a feed down low from Thompson and made an inside move for the bucket that trickled in over Griffin, then after Jordan and Paul buckets, slammed home a feed from Livingston with two hands.
Marreese Speights finally spelled Ezeli after Green got called on a foul, isolated inside on the early offense. Draymond was clearly upset at Festus for not getting back in transition, and Walton pulled Ezeli for a few words of advice on the way to the bench.
Speights got a dunk on another feed from Livingston after a Josh Smith turnover, then got a jumper to fall, supplying the offense with Curry on the bench.
The Warriors also looked for Livingston down low and he did bury a turnaround post jumper over Austin Rivers, but Leandro Barbosa also provided a spark, cutting to the hoop for a scoop assisted by Barnes.
Andre Iguodala also made a jumper in transition. Both Barbosa and Iguodala’s baskets came after ill-advised missed threes from Rivers and Smith.
Barnes iso’ed versus Jamal Crawford for the last play, but Crawford did well to force a non-call out of bounds. The Warriors threw the ball into Speights, who missed a jumper from the left baseline at the buzzer.
The Warriors took a 31-25 lead into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter – Stalemate
Curry started the second quarter and Speights drew this hug foul on Wesley Johnson:
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The Warriors pulled away as Speights got a clean block of a Rivers left side drive, Curry saved the ball in front of the Clippers’ bench, and Iguodala raced down the court and got a jumper to fall over Paul Pierce.
Barbosa then put his head down and attacked the rim after Crawford missed a turnaround jumper and a putback. Curry had let him go, not wanting to pick up his third personal.
Golden State took a 38-27 lead at the next timeout and Green checked back in.
Curry drilled this triple:
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Then was fouled by Johnson in the corner, good for 3 free throws, then made another three from the top, getting fouled by Lance Stephenson in the process.
But Griffin got an and-one as Ezeli was late on the help again.
Curry drained another triple as Ezeli was fouled setting the screen…
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…but Ezeli missed the free throw.
The Warriors held a 46-34 lead with 6:32 to play, but the Clippers clawed back with timely threes, a dunk by Griffin after some helter skelter play, and designed three-pointers for Redick out of timeouts.
Paul picked up the intensity and it was a classic stalemate between the two rivals, heading into the first half buzzer.
Golden State held onto a 63-57 lead going into the second half. Paul led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-9 field, while Curry led the Dubs with 16. Thompson was 4-for-11 shooting with only 8 points. Griffin also had 13 points for Los Angeles.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @julianc)
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