Clippers stun Warriors
From the outside looking in, you think the Warriors would win running away. It doesn’t matter that Stephen Curry will be in street clothes after having tweaked his right ankle during shootaround. After all, the defending champions are slated to ply their trade at the Oracle Arena, where they are a heady 16 and six. In addition, they’ll be welcoming Kevin Durant back from a three-game absence due to a strained right calf even as the Clippers, as handicapped as an 18-and-21 slate suggests, won’t have top dog Blake Griffin to lean on.
Fast forward three hours, and conventional wisdom finds itself on the wrong end of a supposedly sure thing. The Clippers not only bucked their hitherto poor showing away from the Staples Center; they actually earned their second straight win on the strength of an outstanding second half. Sure, the O was rocking, especially with Kevin Durant going for 40 on an ultra-efficient 14-of-18 clip from the field, including a six- of- seven mark from three-point territory. On the other hand, they were nowhere near their usual sharp selves on defense, as good an indication as any that they missed Klay Thompson, who also sat out the match.
Still, credit goes to the Clippers, who kept pace with the Warriors from the get-go and then shifted to higher gear after the break. When the battlesmoke cleared, they presided over a shellacking that had them sporting a .495 shooting percentage overall en route to 125 big points. And for their first win over the Dubs in three years, they have Lou Williams to thank the most; he put up a career-high 50, a whopping 27 in the third quarter, when the Clippers began to blow open what looked to be a close encounter.
If nothing else, the shocker proves that anything — absolutely anything — can happen in the National Basketball Association. In a battle of crosstown rivals, the extreme underdog prevailed. The Clippers don’t have a lot to be thankful for this season, but the triumph over the Warriors still counts as a step in the right
direction.
If nothing else, the shocker proves that anything — absolutely anything — can happen in the National Basketball Association. In a battle of crosstown rivals, the extreme underdog prevailed. The Clippers don’t have a lot to be thankful for this season, but the triumph over the Warriors still counts as a step in the right direction.