Norman Powell scored 26 points and James Harden added 18 as the Los Angeles Clippers took advantage of Stephen Curry’s absence to hold on for a 102-92 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Friday (Saturday, December 28, Manila time).
Ivica Zubac scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, Derrick Jones Jr. added 14 points and Kris Dunn had 13 as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past five games and improved to 3-0 against the Warriors this season.
The Clippers won despite getting outscored 30-21 in the fourth quarter, when they nearly blew a 19-point lead.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 rebounds, and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 15 points with nine rebounds for the Warriors, who gave Curry the night off for knee-injury management.
Draymond Green (back) and Gary Payton II (calf) also were out for Golden State, which lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Even with key players missing, the Warriors led 21-19 after one quarter and were up by as many as four points in the second. The Clippers used a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the second quarter to lead 49-43 at halftime.
Playing in their lone game of a six-day stretch, Los Angeles began to exert itself in the second half, taking a double-digit lead at 59-49 with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter. The Warriors made just one field goal in the final four minutes of the third as the Clippers took an 81-62 advantage.
Golden State used a pressure defense to hold Los Angeles to one field goal more than seven minutes into the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 85-80. The Warriors got within 91-88 on a 3-pointer by Moses Moody with 2:30 remaining.
The Clippers finally sealed the victory when Zubac blocked a dunk attempt by Moody with 1:11 remaining, and Powell made a layup on the other end five seconds later for a 98-88 advantage.
Los Angeles committed 12 of its 23 turnovers in the fourth quarter. – Rappler.com
