Every is okay with the Golden State Warriors Jordan Poole who led Golden State with 32 points against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Jerry Feitelberg
As Yogi Berra once said, “it was deja vu all over again.” For the second game in a row, the Golden State Warriors (33-30) played a sub-par first half and then stormed back in the second half as they beat the LA Clippers (33-32) 115-91 Thursday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors won their fourth consecutive game while the Clippers lost their fourth in a row.
Still, without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors kept pace with the Clippers in the first quarter. The teams exchanged the lead several times in the first 12 minutes. The Clippers finished the quarter with a slim one-point lead, 27-26.
Things changed for the worse for the Warriors in the second period. The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George made life miserable for the Warriors. The Warriors’ offense went ice-cold. The Warriors could not buy a bucket. They made three threes in 22 tries.
The Clippers made six threes. The Warriors shot 33% from the floor, the Clippers 50%. Los Angeles entered the locker room at the end of the first half with an 11 point advantage of 56-45
The Warriors wanted to avenge the 134-124 loss to the Clippers last month in LA. It didn’t look like that would happen. The fans thought it would not be a good night for the Warriors. The fans knew the Warriors shut down the Portland Trailblazers in Tuesday night’s second half. Could they do it again? The Clippers are a better defensive team than the Blazers.
The Warriors answered the question. Yes, they could do it again, and they could do it again against a better defensive team. How did they do it? Jordan Poole was the man in the third quarter. Poole was all over the court. He scored 22 points in the quarter, and the Warrior defense shut down the Clippers’ offense.
The Warriors won the quarter 42-16 to finish the quarter leading 87-72. The Warriors went from an 11 point halftime deficit to a 15-point lead. At one point in the quarter, the Warriors went on a 38-8 run.
In the NBA, 15-point leads can disappear quickly in the fourth quarter. The Warriors knew that they should not turnovers the ball or start to commit fouls. Those mistakes could allow the Clippers to get back into the game. Steve Kerr’s team did not make those mistakes, and they increased the lead to 24, 100-76.
Everyone made contributions to get the win for Golden State. Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga, Donte DiVincenzo, and Anthony Lamb performed well. Poole was the star of the game. Poole finished the night with 34 points. Poole did not make a three-point shot in the first half.
Poole knocked down five threes to lead the Warriors to the win. Klay Thompson was second on the team with 19. Thompson had a career-high 11 rebounds. It was his first double-double game since the 2017 season. The Warriors cruised to a 115-91 victory.
Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are 33-30. They are three games over the.500 mark for the first time this year. The Clippers fell to 33-32. The Warriors are now in third place in the Pacific division of the Western Conference.
Kuminga played well on both ends of the court. Kuminga recorded 19 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Jonathan knocked down three threes. Kerr had to be pleased with his 20-year-old phenom. Draymond Green finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Looney added 11 points and pulled down eight boards. DiVincenzo scored five points. DiVincenzo played a ferocious defense all night long. He also had eleven rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard paced the Clippers with 21 points. Leonard made two threes. Eric Gordon had 16, Paul George 11, Mason Plumlee 12, and Russell Westbrook had eight points.
The Warriors shot 41% from the floor. The Clippers were held to 36%. The Clippers shot 50% in the first half. The numbers show the great defensive effort the Warriors had in the second half. The Warriors made 14 threes, the Clippers nine. The Clippers had six in the first half, nine-for-43 from three-point range.
Curry is almost ready to rejoin the team, possibly as early as Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in LA.
The Warriors play the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.