Warriors routed against Clippers
Still without Curry, Golden State falls 131-107
SAN FRANCISCO >> Of the few fans in attendance on Tuesday night, many filed out of Chase Center before the start of the fourth quarter.
It didn’t matter that, because of the scare of coronavirus, this could be the last time they could watch the Warriors in person. In Golden State’s 131-107 blowout loss to the Clippers as this lottery-bound season winds closer to its end, fans don’t have many reasons to watch.
As guard Stephen Curry missed his second-straight game with a seasonal flu, the Warriors (15-50) could not compete with the star power of the Clippers (44-20), who were led by forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and one of the deepest benches in the league.
Leonard and George, both new to L.A. this season, scored 30 points on a combined 11-for-18 shooting in the first half to take a 28-point lead into halftime. Both played sparingly in the third quarter, by the end of which the Warriors trailed by 34 points, and did not re-enter the game.
Coming off a stretch in which they won three of their last five games, the Warriors didn’t play poorly, they just didn’t have the scoring power to keep up with the second-ranked team in the Western Conference.
Though the Warriors kept their turnovers low (10) and shot a decent percentage from the floor (46.8% overall and 28.9% from 3-point range), the Clippers shot 50% overall and made 20 3-pointers. The shooting came from everywhere, with seven different Clippers making multiple 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, Golden State entered the game short-handed, and lost another player 50 seconds into the game when forward Juan Toscano-Anderson went down with a sprained ankle.
Without Curry, forward Draymond Green (left knee soreness), center Kevon Looney (hip) and two others, the Warriors played only eight players for most of the game.
The Warriors were led by forward Andrew Wiggins, who had 21 points
on 8-of-16 shooting, two rebounds and three assists, and forward Dragan Bender, who finished with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists. Center Marquese Chriss had a doubledouble with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Curry could return in time for Thursday’s game against the Nets, but it’s possible he will
be playing to an arena void of fans.
The city of San Francisco continues to put pressure on the organization to bar fans from attending games as to prevent the spread of the respiratory illness. Also, according to a Warriors spokesperson, the NBA will hold a conference call with teams Wednesday afternoon to discuss next steps of
dealing with COVID-19.
One of the options reportedly up for discussion is continuing to play games with only “essential personnel” — which would not include fans.
It’s possible that the few fans who stayed in their seats until the final buzzer may be the last to witness a Warriors game in person for quite a while.