Warriors vs. Clippers 3/2/2023

The Warriors entered this game riding a 3 game win streak with a record of 32-30. Before this game they were a game and a half back of the Suns in the Western Conference. The Warriors were also riding the momentum of a great comeback win against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers were coming off of a tough loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves who were without Karl-Anthony Towns. The Clippers also came into this game on a 3 game losing streak that put them at 33-31 and tied with the Warriors in the standings. This was a key game for both teams as a win or a loss would have huge repercussions on the standings. Both teams would be without a couple of rotation players as the Clippers would be missing Ivica Zubac and Marcus Morris Sr. and the Warriors would not have Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, or Gary Payton ll. Curry though is nearing a comeback and may return in the near future. This was a second straight home game for the Warriors who were 25-7 at home leading up to this matchup. The Clippers were favored despite this. If the Clippers wanted to prove the odds right they would need to force a bad shooting night from the Warriors and limit turnovers. The Warriors would need to make their shots and defend well. Would the Warriors be able to control Paul George and Kawhi Leonard and get the win or would the Clippers leap frog the Warriors in the standings with a win of their own? To the game!

Mason Plumlee won the tip for the Clippers but they could not materialize. The Clippers eventually scored first at 10:16 as Russell Westbrook posted up Jordan Poole for a layup. Klay Thompson scored the first points of the game for the Warriors on the following possession with a step-back 3. At 9:43, Mason Plumlee was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to take back a 1 point lead. Klay Thompson then gave the Warriors a 10-8 lead at 7:49 with a transition 3. Paul George then tied the game on the next play with a layup. After a possession more for each team the Warriors called a timeout. At 6:54, Draymond Green made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Warriors a 1 point lead. At 5:30, Kawhi Leonard gave the Clippers the lead with a 3. Jonathan Kuminga then made a jumper and Klay Thompson made one on the following possession to give the Warriors a 2 point lead. A Paul George layup tied it up once more for the Clippers but a Kuminga dunk on the next play gave the Warriors the lead back and led to a Clippers timeout at the 3:53 mark. The Warriors and Clippers then traded buckets for a while before Kawhi Leonard hammered home an alley oop from Russell Westbrook to give the Clippers a 2 point lead. At 1:41, Jonathan Kuminga made a 3 to give the Warriors a 1 point lead. Kawhi Leonard took the lead back on the next possession with a layup. The final points of the quarter came on a couple of free throws from Kevon Looney. The score was 27-26 with the Clippers ahead at the end of the quarter. Klay Thompson had 12 points to lead the Warriors in the first quarter and Kawhi Leonard had 11 to lead the Clippers.

The Warriors struck first in the second quarter with 2 free throws from Jordan Poole. At 11:10, Nicholas Batum made a corner 3 for the first Clipper points of the quarter. After some back and forth points, Norman Powell made a layup at 8:59 to give the Clippers a 5 point lead. At the 7 minute mark the Warriors took a timeout after a Mason Plumlee layup. At 2:42, the Clippers took a timeout after they built their lead up to 49-40. Paul George then stepped into a 3 at 1:45 to give the Clippers a 10 point lead. With 47.6 seconds left in the half, Donte DiVincenzo fouled Kawhi Leonard which led to 2 free throws. The call was originally an offensive foul but was overturned after a challenge from Ty Lue. The half concluded with a buzzer beater 3 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers led 56-45 at the half. Neither team played particularly well in the first half. There were a lot of missed shots in the first half from both teams. The Warriors were especially bad shooting wise as they shot a horrendous 33.3% from the field and 13.6% from 3. The Warriors went 3 for 22 from 3 which allowed the Clippers to pull ahead despite a lackluster half as well offensively. The Clippers shot 50% from the field but just 28.6% from 3. Both teams did play well defensively though which led to a low scoring first half. Despite this, Kawhi Leonard was able to score 14 points in the first half to lead the Clippers who had no one else in double-digits. Klay led both teams with 16 at the half for Golden State. If the Warriors were going to win this game they would need to keep playing good defense and get rolling offensively. The Clippers on the other hand would need to keep the Warriors on their heels and start making their threes. To the third!

Kevon Looney started the second half with a put-back layup that made it a 9 point game. Kawhi Leonard got the first points of the half for the Clippers at 10:45 with a 3 point play on a midrange jumper. At 9:30, Jordan Poole made a 3 to cut it to a 7 point game for the Warriors. Then at the 7:57 mark Poole made a deep 3 to make it a 5 point game. 30 seconds later, Poole got a technical foul and Paul George made the free throw. At the 6:05 mark, Ty Lue called a timeout after a Draymond Green layup that cut the Clippers’ lead to 66-63. The Warriors came out of a timeout with a defensive stop which led to a Klay Thompson 3 at 5:48 that tied the game at 66. Then at 4:25, Poole made 2 free throws to give the Warriors the lead after being fouled on a layup. A Kevon Looney layup after a nice cut forced the Clippers to take a timeout on the following play. Kawhi came out of the timeout and made a midrange jumper over Anthony Lamb. At 2:53, Lamb hit a 3 to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. Then at 1:16 Jordan Poole made a 3 to give the Warriors a 12 point lead. On the next Warrior possession Poole shot another 3 and got fouled and knocked down all 3 free throws to give the Warriors a 15 point lead. To end the quarter Poole made 1 more 3 and Tre Mann hit a 3 to counter it for the Clippers. The Warriors had 87 points and the Clippers had 72 at the end of the 3rd quarter. This was a great quarter as the Warriors won it 42-16 led by Jordan Poole with 22 points in the quarter alone. The 26 point difference in the quarter was due to the Warriors making their threes and playing great defense.

The final frame’s first buckets came on a pair of Mason Plumlee free throws. At 9:27, Jordan Poole made a 3 to force a Clipper timeout. A couple minutes later, at 7:28, Kevon Looney made a layup to give the Warriors a 21 point lead and force the Clippers to take yet another timeout. The Warriors steadily grew their lead to 24 over the next couple of minutes until they called a timeout at 5:04. At 4:14, Eric Gordon made 2 free throws to cut the Warriors’ lead to 20. The Warriors and Clippers then hit 2 threes a piece before the Warriors added 4 more to the lead and dribbled out the game. The final score was 115-91 in the Warriors win.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary:

This was a second straight game where the Warriors had a terrific second half to power a comeback where they were down double-digits. They gave an impressive amount of effort on both sides of the ball in the second half and stayed in the game despite bad shooting in the first half. The Warriors won the second half by 35 points though going 46% or 11/24 from 3. They ended the game going just 42% from the field and 31% from behind the arc. The offense was led by Jordan Poole who had 34 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Klay and Kuminga had 19 each to follow Poole. The Warriors played great defensively as well with 9 steals to the Clippers’ 5 and a season best of 91 points allowed. The Warriors dominated the boards 66 to 47 and the points off turnovers 29 to 12. The Clippers ended up shooting 36% from the field and 21% from 3 in this game. They were led by Mason Plumlee who amassed 12 points, 20 rebounds, and 2 assists. Kawhi Leonard played well too with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The Clippers’ shots just weren’t falling in this game and it resulted in a loss that dropped them to the 7th seed in the west. The Warriors on the other hand got their 4th straight win and gained half a game on the Suns in the standings. The final handful of regular season games should have implications on the playoffs so the Warriors winning games like this is incredibly important. A win like this also shows that they can even with without Steph who they may get back as soon as Sunday. Overall, this was another amazing comeback win for the Warriors where they were able to turn it around in the second half and turn a potential loss into a blowout win.