Warriors Vs. Clippers 1/8/2021

Coming into this game the Warriors were 4-4 and the Clippers were 6-3 after the Clippers beat the Warriors 108-101. Despite this tough loss the Warriors were aiming to win and take the 5 seed in the west. With a win here the Clippers could potentially take the one seed. Coming off of a tough loss against the Clippers Wednesday where Curry was held to only 13 points the Warriors came into this game hoping to get a few more points out of Curry and for Wiseman to convert a little more effectively in the paint. The Clippers came into this game needing a few more points out of their two stars in George and Leonard because it was unlikely that Nicholas Batum and Serge Ibaka would combine for 25 points once again. Let’s get into the game, shall we?

To start off the game Serge Ibaka made a mid range jumper and then Stephen Curry followed with a deep three. At 7:51 left in the first Steve Kerr called a timeout after the Clippers took an early 13-5 lead. Paul George and Stephen Curry made back to back threes. With 2:23 to go in the first quarter Curry, Oubre Jr., and Wiseman were the only ones to score. At the start of the second quarter the score was 30-20 (the Clippers leading). Curry was 3 for 4 from 3 with a team high 9 points. The Warriors were shooting 42.1% from the field and 36.4% from 3. The Clippers on the contrary were shooting pretty well with a nice stat line 56.5% from the field and 50% from deep. Serge Ibaka led scoring for them with 8.

In the second quarter the second unit helped get the Warriors back into the game with a nice 10-2 run. At halftime the Clippers led 65-51. Ibaka and George helped the Clippers gain a 14 point lead going into halftime. The Clippers shot 58.7% from the field and 53.3% from 3. On a positive note, at halftime Stephen Curry had more than his point total from last game. At the half the Warriors were shooting 41.5% from the field and 47.4% from 3.

To the third quarter we go! Paul George hit a three with 10:43 to go to give the Clippers a 20 point lead. The Warriors brought the lead down to 13 and then the Clippers brought the lead back up to 20. At 1:00 the Warriors Curry made a 3 to get the lead down to 9. Curry made a buzzer beater 3 to end the quarter and lower the lead to 6. That 3 also gave Curry 33 points in 3 quarters which doesn’t quite top his teammate Klay Thompson’s 60 in 3 quarters but is still pretty impressive. After the 3rd the Warriors were 45% from the field and 46.4% from three. The Clippers well shooting 45% from 2 and 40% from 3.

Kent Bazemore made a free throw to tie the game. At around 10:00 Eric Paschall made a 3 to give the Warriors their first lead of the game. The Clippers called a time out to break a 34-6 run from the Warriors mainly facilitated by the second unit and Stephen Curry. Clippers hit a 3 near the 7 minute mark to tie up the game at 97. The Warriors took back the lead with a deep 3 at 5:46. Wiggins made a 3 with 1 minute 30 seconds left in the game to go from down 22 to up 9. This three gave the Warriors momentum going into a time out from the Clippers. The Warriors ended up winning 115-105.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary: The Warriors closed out the game with a 52 to 20 run to complete an amazing comeback win. As I predicted, Steph would need to have a good game to get the win. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George scored a few more points and so did Ibaka. The only differences were that unlike Wednesday the Warriors were the ones who closed out the game. The second difference was that Stephen Curry had 38 points and 11 assists rather than 13 points and 5 assists. Fun fact: The Warriors are 5-0 when Steph scores 30 points or more. Another thing that I thought was interesting was the lineup the Warriors were running which was with Paschall and Green at center. This lineup was even being run when the Clippers had 2 centers on the court. The Warriors shot 48.8% from the field and 48.8% from 3. I think that shooting almost 50% from 3 as a team is pretty impressive. The Clippers shot 48.2% from 2 and 45.2% from 3. Which is also a pretty impressive 3 point percentage. Almost every single player who played contributed for the Warriors. The Clippers definitely could have done a lot more to close out the game after having a 20 point lead. Overall this was a very entertaining game. This was undoubtedly the most exciting game of the season so far.