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Warriors Charge Past Clippers

The Warriors began their road trip on a winning note, defeating the Clippers 115-98 in Los Angeles on Wednesday Night. Draymond Green scored a season-high 22 points to go along with five points and four assists, while Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry added 24 and 19 points, respectively. Curry was particularly effective on the defensive end, tying a career-high with seven steals, the most by any player in a single game in the NBA this season. With the victory, Golden State improves to 19-3 on the year.

GAME LEADERS

The Warriors couldn’t make anything out of the gate, missing their first seven shots of the contest, but they were able to keep things close in the early going, thanks in large part to forcing four Los Angles turnovers in the opening four minutes. Kevin Durant finally broke the seal with a dunk just over three minutes into the game that seemed to open the floodgates for Golden State, as after opening 1-of-9 from the field, the Warriors would go on to make 10 of their next 11 shots. After DeAndre Jordan’s putback dunk gave the Clippers a 10-9 lead with 6:58 remaining in the quarter, Golden State went on a 26-5 run, taking their largest lead of the frame on Ian Clark’s three-point play with 50 seconds left. Clark would add another layup before former Warrior Marreese Speights closed out the scoring in the quarter with a tip-in, trimming Golden State’s lead to 37-19 at the end of one. Wednesday’s game marked the 207th all-time meeting between the two teams, and the Warriors’ 18-point lead tied their largest advantage ever at the end of the first quarter.

The Warriors dominance in the first quarter might have put the game out of reach if not for the play of Jamal Crawford in the second. Crawford opened the scoring with a jumper, and would cut the deficit to 13 after banking in a 30-foot three-pointer with 5:24 remaining in the quarter. He’d sink another three-pointer 34 seconds later to pull Los Angeles within 11, which Chris Paul followed up soon after with back-to-back jumpers to climb within 53-46 with 2:21 left to play. That’s as close as the Clippers would get however, as the Warriors would close the quarter on a 9-3 run, highlighted by Draymond Green’s three-pointer with three seconds remaining. That was Green’s third three-pointer of the half on only four attempts, while the rest of Golden State combined to shoot just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.

J.J. Redick entered the night ranking third on Los Angeles with an average of 15.5 points per game, and after being held scoreless in the first half, the sharpshooter finally got on the score sheet with a jumper just over three minutes into the third quarter. It was much too little, far too late, however, as the Warriors had already expanded their lead to 19 prior to that basket, and proceeded to run away with the game thereafter. Golden State would answer with a 10-0 run, taking their largest lead of the entire night on Green’s free throw with 5:35 remaining in the frame. The Clippers wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, closing the quarter on a 10-0 burst of their own before Kevon Looney’s layup with nine seconds left sent the game into the fourth and final quarter with Golden State holding a 91-75 lead. Stephen Curry failed to make a single three-pointer in the opening three quarters, but made up for it on the defensive end, swiping four more steals in the third to tie a career-best with seven steals in the contest, the most by any NBA player in a game this season.

Klay Thompson’s jumper at the 8:48 mark capped a 9-2 Warriors’ run to open the quarter, bringing a swift end to any thoughts of a fourth quarter collapse. Los Angeles would cut the deficit down to 17 on Blake Griffin’s jumper with 7:16 remaining, but the Clippers would get no closer, as Golden State’s reserves would soon enter the game to play out the final minutes of a runaway 115-98 victory.

The Warriors totaled 32 assists in the contest, marking the 16th time in 22 games this season that the Dubs have eclipsed the 30-assist threshold. With the win, Golden State improves to 19-3 on the season. They’ll continue their road trip and play their second game in as many nights when they face the Utah Jazz on Thursday.