The Warriors expanded on one point halftime lead through second half, never letting L.A. Clippers take lead in second half.
Even on a night where the splashes were not there for the Warriors, Golden State led through the entire second half of the game en route to a 112-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The team had just a one point lead going into half time, but a 17-4 run to start the third quarter would give them all they needed to secure the victory.
TEAM LEADERS
In his Dubs debut, DeMarcus Cousins finished with 14 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes; he started each quarter playing along side both the other starters and the second unit. Cousins’ plus-21 on was tied for second high on the team with Klay Thompson, just behind Draymond Green’s plus-24.
The Warriors started their night by getting Cousins involved early: Kevin Durant found Cousins off a pick-and-roll for a one-handed dunk to for the Dubs’ first points of the night.
Speaking of Durant, he was active everywhere early; he led the team with 10 points and four assists in the first quarter. He found Kevon Looney twice in the paint towards the end of the quarter for an easy layup and dunk. His effort guided the Warriors to a 28-25 lead after the first 12 minutes.
The second quarter remained tightly contested as Tobias Harris (28 points, nine rebounds) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points) continually made shots and worked their way to the freethrow line. Neither team pulled away by more than five points through the quarter. Draymond Green (seven points, eight rebounds, nine assists) had a huge dunk in the final seconds of the quarter, energizing the Dubs for their second half run.
Golden State’s early run in the third quarter highlighted their versatility. Rather than use the 3-point shot that was not quite there for the team, every starter for the Warriors would score within the arc in the first six minutes of the quarter. A little work on the defensive end would also add to the lead. Golden State would finish the quarter leading the Los Angeles Clippers 81-72.
The Warriors bigs got the fourth quarter started with some fun. Twice in the first 1:27 of the quarter, Green found Cousins open around the right elbow behind the 3-point line and dished it off to him. Both times ended with the same result: splash! The Warriors would eventually push their lead to 22 before the rest of the bench entered into the game.
Kevin Durant continued his 20-point game streak, finishing with 24 points. This is Golden State’s seventh-straight win, and a nice way to start their road trip. The Warriors will stay in Los Angeles for the next one as they play the Lakers Monday night on MLK Day.
More notable moments from Friday's win:
- Golden State won its seventh consecutive game, defeating the L.A. Clippers 112-94 … It’s the Warriors second-longest winning streak of the season, trailing only an eight-game streak from Oct. 22 - Nov. 5, 2018.
- Additionally, the Warriors have won a season-high six-straight games on the road and nine of the last 10 away from home… The six-game road winning streak is the longest in the NBA this season.
- The Warriors improved to 9-0 this season when turning the ball over 10-or-fewer times … They have committed 10-or-fewer turnovers in each of their last four games … The last time Golden State had 10-or-fewer turnovers in four-straight was Dec. 17-21, 1968.
- Golden State is 6-0 this season when holding opponents under 100 points (2-0 on the road) … Dating back to the 2014-15 season, they are 114-8 when holding its opponent under the century mark.
- The Warriors held the Clippers to 36.5% shooting from the field … They are 5-2 this season when holding their opponent under 40 percent shooting and 69-5 dating back to the 2014-15 season.
- Golden State handed out 31 assists and has now topped the 30-assist plateau in seven of the last nine games … They are 15-3 this season when recording at least 30 assists.
- Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Warriors (Cousins, Curry, Durant, Green and Thompson) became the first team since the ’75-’76 Boston Celtics (Dave Cowens, John Havlicek, Paul Silas, Charlie Scott and Jo Jo White) to play five players who were All-Stars the previous year.
- According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Warriors center to record at least three 3-pointers was Anthony Tolliver on March 17, 2010 vs. New Orleans … Tolliver shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
- With 24 points tonight, Kevin Durant (22,207) surpassed Clyde Drexler (22,195) for 31st on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
- Stephen Curry recorded a game-high tying 28 points … He has scored 20-plus points in each of the last five games and 30 times overall this season.