The Warriors lost 104-119 against a Clipper team that did not have many of its key players playing, including their 2 superstars. Kawhi Leonard has been out through the season after his injury in the playoffs and Paul George has been on the bench after his elbow injury.
After trading for Norman Powell, the forward also got injured against Dallas on 10th February and wasn’t playing in the game. The forward is said to be suffering from a “fractured medial sesamoid bone in his left foot” as per the team announcement. Despite being severely undermanned, the Clippers beat the Warriors who had both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in the game.
The game was close throughout the first half and ended with the Clippers being ahead by just 2 points at the end of the half. Curry had an amazing game up to that point, scoring 26 in the half on 9/11 shooting from the field and 6/7 3 point shooting. But things changed in the 3rd quarter and the Clippers took over the game. The warriors seemed to have lost focus and had multiple turnovers and defensive breakdowns in the quarter. They were leaving the lane open, allowing the clippers to drive to the basket for easy layups and dunks. The Clippers ended the quarter with a 94-78 lead and ended up winning the game 119-104. They had 6 players with double-digit scoring and were led by the 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assist performances by Terrence Mann.
Steph ended up with a 33 point game but only 3 other players scored in double digits ( Jonathan Kuminga – 10 points, Jordan Poole – 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins – 13 points). Steph’s partner in crime and fellow splash brother, Klay Thompson had a horrible game following his 33 point performance against the Lakers on Sunday. The 5-time All-star had only 7 points in 26 minutes and shot only 21.4% from the field and 20% from 3 point range. The superstar had a team-low -23 +/- rating.
Despite losing the game the Warriors still have the 2nd best record in the league at 42-15. The game said a lot about the Clippers though, who fought against a top-seeded Warriors team and managed to win without their star players. Ty Lue has done an amazing job coaching the team and has established a great culture in an organization that has often been mocked for its mediocrity. Owner Steve Balmer acquiring the team has also been great. The GM Michael Winger and President Lawrence Frank have done a great job of putting together a fantastic team. Once everyone gets healthy, the Clippers are going to be one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
