NBA: Clippers stun Warriors again with 102-99 victory

So far this season, the Los Angeles Clippers have been a persistent challenge for the Golden State Warriors.

Ty Lue’s Clippers handed the Warriors two of their three losses this season, including a hard-fought 102-99 win on Monday night at the Intuit Dome, News.Az reports, citing US media.

An impressive third quarter wasn’t enough to make up for a sloppy first half for the Warriors, who couldn’t send the game into overtime with two late 3-point tries. Golden State (10-3) nearly came back, but ultimately fell, 102-99.

Steph Curry scored a game-high 26 points, outplaying James Harden (12 points, 16 assists), but the Warriors left too many points on the board to steal a win.

The Clippers caused the Warriors to commit four turnovers in the first five minutes, repeating their disruptive ball pressure from their first meeting. In that Warriors loss, Golden State coughed up a season-high 21 turnovers; they’re 8-0 on the season when committing 15 or fewer.

Sometimes the Warriors were playing too fast, sometimes they misread split actions and sometimes the Clippers deflected interior passes.

Golden State’s bench clawed back from an early 12-point deficit, playing with more pace and force — particularly with Kyle Anderson as the small-ball center. Kevon Looney didn’t make the trip because of an illness, so the Warriors needed Anderson to play up even more than usual.

Beyond the turnovers that hurt them in the possession battle, the Warriors left points on the board from the foul line. Jonathan Kuminga missed his first three free throws, and Trayce Jackson-Davis went 0-for-2 in his first trip against “The Wall,” the Intuit Dome’s fan section. Wall or not, the Warriors rank dead last in the league in free throw percentage and shot 9-for-19 in Monday’s game.

When the Warriors’ starters returned halfway through the second quarter, they immediately ceded an 11-2 run. Steve Kerr called a timeout when Los Angeles’ lead grew to 50-36. At that point, the Clippers had hit nine of their 15 3-pointers.

After he hit his second 3 of the night, Draymond Green set an illegal screen for the Warriors’ 13th turnover of the first half. Then Norman Powell (23 points) blew by Jonathan Kuminga for a buzzer-beating layup. The Warriors walked into the visitor’s locker room for halftime down 11.

News.Az