A rivalry has been born between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers, with both teams finally becoming relevant during the same time in history. After taking the Clippers to 7 games in a 2014 first-round playoff series loss, the Warriors are looking to turn the tables and steal the Pacific Division title from the Clippers this season.
What was expected to be a hard fought, tight game between two Western Conference contenders, was anything but. The Warriors thoroughly dominated every facet of the game - field goal shooting (58%), three point shooting (15/25: 60%), costless throw shooting (20/20: 100%) - limiting the Clippers to 46 percent shooting, and they outrebounded the Clippers 39 to 30. The only blemish of the night for the Warriors was their high number of turnovers (23), but with the extremely quick pace of the game, a high turnover number was to be somewhat expected.
Leading by 27 points through three quarters, the Warriors seemed to take their foot off the gas pedal. The Clippers kept playing hard and made it a little bit interesting cutting the deficit to 13 (95-108) with 3:57 remaining in the game. Stephen Curry quickly calmed the storm by scoring six points in the next minute. Ultimately the game was never even close as the Warriors pulled out a 121-104 win.
Draymond Green scored a career-high 24 points, going 8/13 from the field, 4/8 from three point range, while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 28 points, going 9/18 from the field and 4/8 from threes while adding six rebounds and seven assists. Klay Thompson picked two quick fouls in the first quarter but settled down later in the game to finish with 19 points. Andrew Bogut added 15 rebounds and five assists to go along with his six points.
Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 24 points on 8/13 shooting from the field and 3/6 from threes. DeAndre Jordan added 17 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Paul finished the game with 15 points and 12 assists while Blake Griffin was held in check, being limited to 14 points and only one rebound.
The Warriors remain undefeated on the season at 4-0 while the Clippers drop to 2-2.
The Warriors will play the undefeated Houston Rockets in their next game on Saturday, November 8. The Clippers have another test coming up against a tough opponent in the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday afternoon.