ALL TOO EASY, AND TOO QUEASY
Warriors hand Clippers worst loss of season, making Rivers feel even more ill.
GOLDEN STATE 144 CLIPPERS 98
OAKLAND — Doc Rivers has been sick for three weeks, the Clippers coach’s strength so sapped on Saturday evening that he rarely stood while his team was getting demolished, 144-98, by the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
When Rivers did stand a few times, there were so many things to admonish his team about that it probably just made him weaker by the moment, the Clippers offering so little resistance that they allowed a season high in points and suffered their most one-sided loss this season.
“I thought we gave in way too easy,” Rivers said. “You should never lose by this much in any game, in any situation. But they’re better right now. Until we improve, they’re going to keep beating us.”
Rivers mostly sat and witnessed his team go down in the third quarter under an avalanche of Stephen Curry three-point slings and Warriors points that sent the Clippers to their eighth consecutive defeat to Golden State.
“If I won eight games in a row, I would have a mental edge,” Rivers said.
Curry, supposedly playing with a sore left quadriceps, detonated for 25 of his 43 points in the third quarter. He was five for eight from three-point range in the period, during which he seemed to be playing alone.
For the game he was 15 for 23 from the field, nine for 15 from three-point range.
Of all the 72 points the Clippers surrendered in the first half, the most painful had to be when Curry eased up the court and casually and knowingly hoisted a three-pointer from half court that splashed through the net as the halftime buzzer sounded.
The fans went crazy. The Warriors celebrated, none more so than Andre Iguodala, who chest-bumped Curry so hard he fell on the court. Curry stayed on his belly for a few seconds, his arms extended.
The Clippers could only solemnly trudge to their locker room.
“We can talk about, like, being who we are. But who are we?” Clippers guard J.J. Redick said. “To me, we’re the most inconsistent team, maybe in the league. Like, we’re inconsistent. That’s who we are. So, like, if we’re going to be inconsistent, we can’t expect to come in here and play these guys and be inconsistent and play well. It’s not realistic.”
The Clippers have lost four of five games since point guard Chris Paul had surgery for a torn thumb ligament that is expected to sideline him six to eight weeks.
But they will see the Warriors again Thursday night at Staples Center knowing it’s going to take a better effort than this one.
Blake Griffin, in his second game back after missing 18 games following right knee surgery, had 20 points for a Clippers team that was never in this game.
The total destruction by the Warriors notwithstanding, Rivers has been unsure what has put him in a weakened state.
“It has been three weeks now, so it’s not been a fun stretch,” he said. “I’ll get through it. I just want to find out what the hell it is to be honest.”