Paul George Nails Go-Ahead Three To Complete 19 Point Comeback Over Golden State Warriors

The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a gutsy comeback win last night against the Golden State Warriors. Down 19 at half, the Clips stormed back late in the game until they were down two with possession and the shot clock turned off. Paul George calmly came down court and got into his dribble moves, stepped back behind the three point line, and nailed a go ahead trey to lift LA over the Dubs, 113-112. The Clippers came into the game behind Golden State in the Western Conference standings but after the win, jumped ahead of them leaving the Warriors on the outside looking in, at 11th place. Kerr played around with the starting lineup a little bit, going with Saric instead of Looney, and starting Moody in place of the injured Wiggins.

It was a pleasant surprise for Warrior fans as Draymond once again came out the gates hot. He poured in an astonishing four threes in the first quarter, helping the team get out to an early 23-13 lead. When Dray got a rest and was subbed out, the splash brothers picked up right where he left off trading threes. Kawhi Leonard was able to knock down a long ball of his own, but the Dubs maintained a 33-22 lead at the end of the first. To Golden State’s credit, they didn’t slow down in the second quarter. Podziemski got a few buckets early on including a three extending the lead to 13. Then a few minutes later Norman Powell cashed in on a trey to trim the deficit to eight, 44-36. But Kuminga came right back with a three of his own, and the Warriors dominated from that point forward, not allowing the Clips to come within single digits the rest of the second. Up 59-48 with a little over a minute left before half, Curry went on a solo 8-0 run, draining two three pointers and closing out the period with a bucket at the rim. At the break, Golden State held a comfortable 67-48 advantage.

The big three for the Clippers took over the game in the third, combining for 26 of the first 30 points for LA and cutting the lead to 85-78. During this span, the Warriors struggled to put the ball in the basket, missing shots and turning the ball over at a high rate. Thankfully, Draymond Green was able to keep them above water with timely baskets as he accounted for seven big points in the quarter. In the last two minutes, backup center Daniel Theis got two easy looks at the cylinder and Norman Powell cashed in on a three to make it a two point game. But Klay closed out the quarter with back to back jumpers, one being from beyond the arc and the Warriors took a 92-85 lead into the fourth. The first couple minutes of the fourth are typically crucial for Golden State as Curry is usually on the bench waiting to come in for the final stretch. Oftentimes opposing teams make runs as the Dubs offense is obviously not as dynamic and successful without Steph. But this time, the Warriors second unit played great, and when Steph checked into the game with nine minutes left, they had a 10 point cushion, 98-88. Oddly enough, that is exactly when the Clippers ripped a 7-0 burst led by Paul George, making it a 98-95 game. A few minutes later Moody and Podziemski nailed huge threes, extending the lead back to six. PG13 and Kawhi came back with two buckets, bringing the score to 105-104 with just over two minutes to play. The final two minutes were hectic. Steph hit two from the charity stripe, but Kawhi came back and knocked down a short jumper. Then on a nice inbound play, Podziemski got a layup at the rim after a nice feed from Draymond. On the Clippers next possession, Kawhi turned it over and Paul George got whistled for a clear path foul as Moody drove to the rim. Moody converted both free throws giving the Warriors a 111-106 lead with possession of the ball. In a tragic turn of events, the Clips strung two stops together and got two buckets from Kawhi and Harden to make it a 112-110 game with 35 seconds remaining. The Warriors called timeout and drew up a play to ice the game, but Curry missed a step back jumper and PG13 came down the floor and laced a three ball as the Crypto.com Arena erupted. With eight seconds on the clock, the Dubs had one more chance to win the game but came up empty as Draymond missed an open corner trey.

Steph led the team with 22 points and 11 assists. Moody and Dray both had season highs with 21 points apiece with Dray also tallying 9 boards and 8 assists. Klay had a mediocre 17 points while Podziemski came off the bench with 12 points on 5-9 shooting. Saric and Kuminga both had poor performances as they finished with 6 points each. For Los Angeles, the big three combined for 66 as PG13 led the way with 25. Zubac, Powell and Theis chipped in with 12 points a pop, and Westbrook put up 8 points off the bench. 

The first half was excellent for Golden State as they were hitting their shots and moving the ball around without turning it over. Unfortunately, they failed to do the same in the second half. This was exemplified by the fact that they had 67 points at the half, and only finished with 112 meaning they put up an abysmal 45 points in the second half. Taking a look at some stats, the Dubs shot a solid 44.2% from the field including 39.5% from deep. They did out rebound the Clips by 2, but were brutally outscored in the paint, 56-38. One great takeaway is that the Warriors limited their fouling as the Clippers only got to the line 14 times. Additionally, the team was swinging the rock around very effectively as they assisted on 31/38 of their buckets. At the end of the day, with key pieces out such as CP3, Wiggins and Gary Payton, the Warriors needed offensive production from other players. This would’ve been a perfect opportunity for Kuminga to be aggressive and have the green light to attack. But he just didn’t show up with that mentality. 

Briefly I would like to apologize for the misinformation I wrote about last article. The Warriors do not have a ten day break for the In-Season Tournament. Instead, their next tilt comes on Wednesday when they host the Trailblazers. To me, this is a must win game. The Blazers are one of the worst teams in the league as they currently have a 6-13 record. After the Blazers game, the Warriors have a tough road trip including games against the Suns, Clippers and Thunder. Moreover, they need to capitalize and take care of business when they match up against weaker teams. Look for Curry to put up 30 points and the Warriors to come away with a win, 123-110.