ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Los Angeles Clippers at the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors took a 57-50 lead into halftime.
3RD QUARTER: It’s Draymond’s Birthday Again!
Draymond Green started the second half on the right foot with a layup, but after JJ Redick got his 15th and 16th points on a layup assisted by Chris Paul‘s 9th assist, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t see what he liked and called an early timeout.
Green got a steal after Paul lost the ball and Stephen Curry ended the sequence with a side step three-pointer on Redick.
That would fuel this Curry wizardry shortly thereafter:
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Kerr had his hands on top of his head in awe and walked back towards his seat.
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After that, Paul charged into Curry, but the ball caromed off Steph and into the sideline with no call. The boos rained when the Oracle jumbotron showed that “CP3” had, indeed, initiated the contact a little too much to the crowd’s liking.
Then, Green stole the show.
Curry was facing the usual heavy pressure from Paul up top and, under duress, flipped the ball over to the left wing with his left hand. With the shotclock winding down and DeAndre Jordan on his heels, Green attacked hard lefty dribble, left side, drew the contact, and converted the layup with the harm. The free throw put the Warriors up, 68-54, and Clippers head coach Doc Rivers took a timeout. There was 7:40 left on the clock.
Not long thereafter, Draymond did it again, another and-one going down the right side of the paint, helped by Andrew Bogut clearing space. Green celebrated with a few taps of his shoulder and it was another trip to the charity stripe for the bonus free throw. Green made it and it was 75-60, Warriors.
Green almost had another drive past Jordan, but the layup trickled off the rim to Oracle’s (loud) dismay. Hedo Turkoglu drilled a trey at the other end, assisted by Austin Rivers, and Kerr called timeout with the lead cut to 76-65 with 3:07 to go in the third.
Draymond added a dunk to his already impressive night on a nice pass from Andre Iguodala, and Iguodala and Shaun Livingston added free throws as Golden State’s defense tightened up, resulting in early opportunities for the Warriors.
Before the period ended, Livingston added a turnaround over the diminutive Nate Robinson in the low left block, then Leandro Barbosa stole the ball from Jordan when he wasn’t looking in the high post, and Barbosa’s run-out layup made it 86-68 with less than 30 ticks to go.
On the next possession, Rivers tried to drive on Iguodala, but Iguodala simple back-pedaled and slapped the ball off Rivers, enabling the Dubs one more possession before the buzzer. Thompson took advantage, getting a right side jumper to fall after Redick bit on his show-ball on the catch.
The Warriors took an 87-68 lead into the final frame and to a standing ovation from #Roaracle. Green pushed his point total to a game-high 23, while Klay added 21, and Curry finally started cooking with 10 points. Redick led the Clips with 18, Paul added 12, Rivers 10, and Jordan collected 14 rebounds.
4TH QUARTER: Livingston Got Your Back
Just when the game was falling into “ho-hum” range, Glen “Big Baby” Davis got things interesting as he took a charge from Barbosa then flopped.
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The Warriors were up 92-74 with 7:32 remaining and Kerr re-inserted Curry with just over seven minutes to play to make sure things didn’t get out of hand.
Livingston added to his heroics of the night after Curry got his second of three steals on the night, then rushed down the court, only to miss the layup, but “S-dot” was there to slam it home, two-handed.
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Livingston added a fade-away, Harrison Barnes a three, and after Curry stole a pass by Jordan Hamilton and drew a late whistle on a fouled reverse attempt on the ensuing fastbreak, the crowd at Oracle started to file out. Golden State held a commanding 99-82 lead with 4:06 remaining, despite a couple three-pointers by Turkoglu.
Steph exited with 3:46 to go and the Warriors up, 101-82, as Livingston, Barbosa, Justin Holiday, Barnes, and David Lee did the mop-up work.
Golden State defeated Los Angeles, 106-98 as Hamilton turned the ball over on the last possession to Livingston, keeping the Clippers under 100 points.
Green led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-15 field, 3-for-4 downtown, and 4-for-4 free throws, to go along with 6 assists. Thompson was 9-for-13 shooting, 3-for-5 downtown, good for 21 points, while Livingston tallied 21 points on an efficient 9-for-14, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Barbosa chipped in 9 points, while Curry collected 12 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, but also 4 turnovers in the matchup against Paul.
Rivers led the Clips with 22 points, while Redick added 18 and Paul had 14 points, 11 assists. Jordan crashed the boards for 14 rebounds in defeat.
The Warriors (49-12) fly to Pheonix tonight and will face the Suns tomorrow on the back end of a back-to-back.
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