Golden State Warriors lose a 22-point lead to Los Angeles Clippers
LOS ANGELES — The Warriors led until the final 10 seconds when Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to hand Golden State a 113-112 loss on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors fell to 9-11 on the year.
Here are observations from a strong performance that went awry down the stretch.
Draymond Green’s 3-point shooting
Green woke up a sleepy crowd with four 3-pointers in the first quarter, tying the most he’s had in one quarter since January of 2016. His 12 points were the most he’s scored in a quarter this season and his biggest total since he had 18 in that 2016 game against Denver.
Green finished with a season-high 21 points but missed the open corner 3 at the buzzer that would have won the game.
Teams will leave Green open beyond the arc because he’s a 31.7% career 3-point shooter. But he can give the Warriors a boost when he can take advantage of that space and knock down shots.
In 11 games this year, Green is shooting 46.4% from 3 on an average of 2.5 attempts per game. Green keeping defenses a little honest like he did on Saturday — and he did a good amount in the earlier part of his career — gives the Warriors’ offense an added dynamic.
Starting lineup change
Andrew Wiggins missed his second straight game nursing an injured index finger on his shooting hand, giving Moses Moody another shot in the starting lineup. Dario Saric got the start in place of Kevon Looney to help with spacing on the floor.
The change gave Golden State a spark from the tip, and the Warriors got busy attacking a slower and older Clippers team to take a 19-point lead into halftime.
Similar to their win against Los Angeles on Thursday, the Warriors played with more pace and energy than in previous games. At the half, the Warriors were shooting 54.5% from 3 on 22 attempts, with Steph Curry leading the way shooting 4-of-6 from 3. But Curry went cold in the second half as the Clippers climbed back into the game behind their star scorers.
Improved defense
Despite the Clippers’ comeback, it’s clear getting Green back has tightened up the Warriors’ defense and lessened some of the communication-related mistakes they were prone to through their losing streak. Through their two wins, they’ve held off any big scoring games by one of the Clippers’ many stars, such as James Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook.
The Clippers’ style plays to the Warriors’ strength. Typically Golden State has committed more fouls and turnovers against the younger, longer, and quicker-twitch teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers are older and run more stagnant.
The Clippers sped the Warriors’ defense up in the second half, making it a seven-point game by the start of the fourth quarter as the game came down to the wire. With Curry and the rest gone cold, the defense couldn’t hold the lead.
