The Warriors begin their five-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Wednesday night.
Warriors at ClippersWednesday, Dec. 77:30 p.m.Staples CenterLos Angeles
TV: CSN Bay Area, ESPN
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Radio Network
HITTING THE ROAD
Coming off Klay Thompson’s historic 60-point effort, the Warriors begin their five-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Wednesday night. This will be the first of four matchups between the two teams this season, while Golden State enters the game having won the last six meetings between the two Pacific division rivals. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Watch the action on CSN Bay Area and ESPN, or listen to the call on 95.7 The Game or on the Warriors Radio Network.
LAST TIME OUT
Klay Thompson scored a career-best 60 points, leading the Warriors to a 142-106 victory over the Pacers on Monday night. Full Recap
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
GSW
18-3
1st in West
120.2 PPG (1st)
44.6 RPG (9th)
32.0 APG (1st)
LAC
16-6
3rd in West
108.7 PPG (6th)
44.1 RPG (15th)
22.3 APG (14th)
PROJECTED STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia
LAC: Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Luc Mbah a Moute, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: Damian Jones is on D-League assignment. Team Notes
LAC: Brice Johnson (acute herniated disc, lower back) is out. Team Notes
LET'S SEE THAT AGAIN
As amazing and rare of an accomplishment as scoring 60 points in an NBA game is, consider this: Klay Thompson only touched the ball 52 times for a total of 88.4 seconds on Monday night. All the more impressive, Thompson took a total of 11 dribbles – in the entire game! All that equates to 1.7 seconds, 1.2 dribbles and 1.154 points per touch on his historic evening. To place that final stat in context, Toronto's Terrence Ross currently leads the NBA with an average of 0.522 points per touch this season. So, on Monday night, Thompson was more than two times more efficient than the most efficient scorer in the league this season, and managed to do so while taking 33 shots, the seventh-most taken by any player in a single game this year. A Closer Look >>
TEAM LEADERS
GSW
PTS: Durant (27.3)
REB: Green (8.8)
AST: Green (7.3)
LAC
PTS: Griffin (21.1)
REB: Jordan (12.9)
AST: Paul (9.1)
LOS ANGELES SCOUTING REPORT
The Clippers shot out of the gate, winning 14 of their first 16 games of the season while playing the best defense of any team in the league, holding their opponents to an average of 93.0 points per 100 possessions. It’s been a different story since, as Los Angeles would lose their next three games and now sits at 16-6 on the season, good for third place in the West behind the Warriors and Spurs. The decline in performance has been most evident on the defense end, as the Clippers have posted a defensive rating of 105.9 since their opening surge, ranking 17th in the league over that span. Chris Paul has been a consistent veteran presence as always, and currently ranks fifth in the NBA with an average of 9.1 assists per game. While Golden State has dominated the series as of late and won each of the last three matchups at Staples Center, they’ve done so while outscoring the Clippers by a combined total of 14 points. The two teams often bring out the best in one another, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see another close one on Wednesday night.