Warriors Snap Skid with Win Over Clippers

A dominant second quarter gave the Warriors the cushion they needed as they snapped a five-game losing streak with a 112-97 victory over the Clippers on Tuesday night at Chase Center.

Rookie Jonathan Kuminga had perhaps his best all-around game as a pro and Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole had 20 points apiece as the Dubs picked up their second win since the All-Star Break.

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Playing on the back end of a road-home back-to-back, the Warriors and Clippers were tied at 21-21 at the end of the first quarter before the Dubs took the lead for good with an 8-0 spurt to open the second period. The Warriors would win the quarter 33-15 and pushed their lead to as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter before the Clippers made a last-ditch comeback effort in the final minutes.

Kuminga The Closer
The seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jonathan Kuminga delivered some of the game’s top highlights with his high-flying athleticism. Beyond the dunks, of which he had plenty, Kuminga showed off all aspects of his game on Tuesday. His six assists were a career-high, and he helped put the game on ice with consecutive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter. The Warriors’ rookie scored 12 of his 21 points in the final period, and earlier in the game he delivered perhaps the best highlight of the night.

Poole Party Continues
Jordan Poole came through with his fourth consecutive 20-point game, and he did much of that damage late in the second quarter. Over a 70-second span, he scored eight-straight Warriors points to push their lead to as many as 20 points in the half. Poole finished the game 8-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, scoring 13 of his 20 points in the second period.

Klay Bounces Back
Perhaps inspired by a pregame visit from Will Ferrell (read more on that below), Klay Thompson made his first shot of the game and would finish the contest with 20 points, his sixth 20-point game since his return two months ago, and his highest scoring output since his 33-point game against the Lakers last month. One of several Warriors veterans who didn’t travel to Denver for Monday’s game, Thompson came through with a big bucket in the fourth quarter, knocking down a running bank shot from the right side with 2:31 left in the game, helping to stall a Clippers comeback attempt that had cut their deficit from 29 points down to 11.

Dubs Defense on Display
After giving up at least 120 points in each of the last four games, the Warriors stepped up their defensive effort against the Clippers. Los Angeles’ 36 points over the first two quarters were the fewest allowed by the Dubs in a half this season, and the Clippers shot just 35.5 percent from the floor for the game. Andrew Wiggins tallied three blocks and Klay Thompson added two more, while Stephen Curry added three steals and in the process moved pass Chris Mullin for the franchise’s all-time steals record.

SPECIAL GUEST ON WARRIORS GROUND
The Warriors got a surprise visit from actor Will Ferrell prior to the game. Dressed as his Jackie Moon character from the 2008 film Semi-Pro, Ferrell warmed up alongside some of the Dubs, among them Klay Thompson, who dressed up as Jackie Moon for Halloween back in 2018. » Read More on Will Ferrell's Visit with the Dubs

WISEMAN TO SUIT UP WITH SEA DUBS
Earlier on Tuesday, the Warriors announced that James Wiseman will be playing in a few upcoming games with the Santa Cruz Warriors. The second-year center suffered a torn meniscal tear in his right knee last spring, and that injury has kept him sidelined for the entire season. Wiseman is expected to play with Santa Cruz at Stockton on Thursday and on Sunday when the Sea Dubs take on the G League Ignite at Chase Center.

“Well, he’s been scrimmaging with the team here the last few weeks and the next logical step is live-action in the G League,” Head Coach Steve Kerr said prior to the game. “I don’t know of any other options other than to put him into one of our games and we feel like it makes a lot more sense for him to get some action and play a lot and get a lot of rhythm and conditioning before he plays for us.”

CELEBRATING WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT MONTH
With March being Women’s History Month and Tuesday being International Women’s Day, the Warriors celebrated Women’s Empowerment at the game. In partnership with Chase, the Warriors distributed purple Women’s Empowerment shoelaces to all fans in attendance, and a $20,000 donation was made to Girls on the Run. For more on the Warriors’ monthlong celebration of Women’s Empowerment, click here.

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