warriors game day (Photo: via @TrappdnGoldenSt Twitter account)
STAPLES CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CA — The anticipation in #DubNation for this Pacific Division-standings-impacting game was high. The Golden State Warriors had won five straight while the Los Angeles Clippers were on an even bigger tear at eight straight wins. The Warriors led the season series 2-1.
PRE-GAME
Warriors fans’ response for #LobCity is #FlopCity, in reference to Clippers’ point guard Chris Paul‘s penchant for exaggerating physical play on defense.
Meanwhile, at Staples Center, Blake Griffin was giving his usual pregame show.
It was also reported that Klay Thompson would miss Friday’s game at #Roaracle against the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Warriors guard Klay Thompson will miss Friday's game to attend his grandfather's funeral. http://t.co/CPyxopMTkh
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) March 13, 2014
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IN-GAME
The Warriors got off to a good start, with Klay Thompson the glaring mismatch on offense. He went to work in the post and took advantage of his height over Darren Collison. With 2:01 to go in the first, the game was tied at 23-23. However, the Clippers’ new acquisition Danny Granger was hitting his shots from outside and keeping the Clippers in the game. The Warriors starters also had a little bit of trouble getting back on defense, falling victim to court-long passes even after made baskets. At the end of the first, it was still tied at 29-29.
With 6:00 to in the 2nd quarter, Stephen Curry got one of his fly-by in-transition three-pointers to go and the Warriors trailed just 39-36. The Warriors had never really let #LobCity take flight and even offered a lob of their own. At halftime, the Dubs led 56-54.
The Clippers’ bench players continued to play well in the third quarter, helping the Clippers take an 84-79 lead by the end of the period and outscoring the Warriors’ bench, 31-13. The trend was still heading south for the Warriors as, on a rare miss by Granger, Griffin jammed home the putback, demoralizing the Dubs for a bit.
The Warriors starters, most notably the quadricep-hampered Curry, rested into the fourth period until less than 8 minutes remaining, while the Clippers stuck with their starters. With 6:10 to go in the game, the Clippers were up 93-87 and Golden State’s starters had come back in, but it turned out that the slim lead was all the Clippers needed.
The final score was 111-98, although the game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. The Clippers won their ninth straight and took a strangehold over the Pacific Division.
Curry also left the game late, after getting banged up in a collision with Griffin, as well as Collison, and finally on an attempted charge on Paul. He went to the bench with a slight limp and replays showed that his already injured right quadricep may have been involved in the collision with Collison on offense.
POST-GAME
The chippy game featured a critical Jordan Crawford three-pointer nullified as Draymond Green and an entangled Griffin rolled to the floor, with the foul called on Green. It also included Andrew Bogut getting shoved by Griffin into a driving Matt Barnes that was called a foul on Bogut.
Jermaine O’Neal confronted Griffin outside the locker room.
David Lee said it's no coincidence that Blake Griffin is in the middle of so many dust ups: "It’s no coincidence is an understatement."
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) March 13, 2014
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RECAP ROUND-UP
Steve Perrin of ClipsNation:
The Clippers have been a powerful offensive team this season, and it’s fair to say that their offense defines them more than their defense. But the 42-22 Clippers run over the final 17 minutes of the game was all about great defense.
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The run began when Mark Jackson went to his bench. Golden State’s second unit is better now than it was to begin the season, but it’s still not very strong, and it was a disaster Wednesday night. The unit of Steve Blake, Jordan Crawford, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Jermaine O’Neal was on the floor, more or less as a complete unit, for almost nine minutes of game time. During that stretch they were a collective 1-8 from the field, with the one field goal being an uncontested layup after a turnover, though they did manage to make six free throws.
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With the Clippers defense energized by their success against the second unit and momentum on their side, they continued to stifle the Warriors even after the starters returned. The key adjustment by Doc Rivers was to place Paul (6’0) on Klay Thompson (6’7). Thompson had 21 points through three quarters, taking advantage of the similarly diminutive Collison in the post at the outset of the game. He had five points on one three pointer and two free throws in the final period.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
“Both teams are playing good basketball right now,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, whose team has won 10 of 13 games since the All-Star break. “This one loss isn’t going to stop us from continuing that momentum, that rhythm.”
.The dunk from Griffin at Staples Center that will be replayed on highlight shows will be the leaping, one-handed putback he had off a missed Danny Granger 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 91-84 lead in the fourth quarter.
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As a whole, Griffin was masterful in hitting jump shots that the Warriors let him take while shooting 13 of 28 from the field. He managed to command plenty of attention to the Warriors’ detriment.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area:
Klay Thompson led five Warriors in double figures with 26 points. David Lee finished with 20, while Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala each put in 13 and Draymond Green added 10.
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But the benches were the difference in this game. The Warriors’ reserves, who tallied 59 points in the win over Dallas on Tuesday night, were outscored 33-20 by L.A. backups. More to the point, the Warriors’ bench made only 3 of 25 shots, with guards Steve Blake and Jordan Crawford combining to go 0-for-11.
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One fairly reliable indicator of fatigue is rebounding, and the Clippers posted a 49-36 advantage on the glass. Los Angeles outscored the Warriors 42-22 over the final 17-plus minutes of the game.
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Blake Griffin led Los Angeles, with game highs in points (30) and rebounds (15).
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:
Danny Granger and Willie Green gave the Clippers a big lift with their play off the bench.
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Granger was the force in the first half, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the first 24 minutes.
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Green was the man in the second half, scoring eight of his 13 points in the final 24 minutes.
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“Obviously, he made shots, but I thought Willie’s defense in the second half and the first was fantastic,” Rivers said. “Danny Granger is just getting better and better.”
Of course, there was no way this game could be played without at least one of the Warriors getting into it with Griffin.
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The first minor situation arose with 18.8 seconds left in the third quarter when Griffin was pulled down by Draymond Green, who was called for an offensive foul when the Warriors had the basketball for the final shot of the quarter.
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
The Warriors weren’t able to make a statement in the closing minutes either. The game included 21 lead changes and 12 ties, and the Warriors trailed 89-84 with 8:27 remaining.
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The Warriors committed four of their 12 turnovers and allowed the Clippers to score eight of their 19 second-chance points in the final stretch to pull away.
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“We played a pretty solid game all the way through, but we just … didn’t make the right plays down the stretch,” Warriors point guard Stephen Curry said. “They crash the glass, they’re quick jumpers and they rely on that. If we see them down the road, it’s something we have to address.”
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