Sliding down the San Francisco baseline Monday night past Chris Paul in Phoenix, Stephen Curry claimed a basket and the final say.
“This isn’t 2014 anymore,” the Golden State star told his longtime wrestler as the cameras rolled.
Paul later said he was unaware of the reference, but on his podcast, Curry’s Warriors’ Draymond Green explained its hidden meaning: that it had been a long time since Paul could be considered a better player.
The announcement was made inside the Chase Center. It was felt in the hearts of the Clippers.
Nine years ago, with Paul at the helm, the Clippers were on the rise. Even the effects of former owner Donald Sterling’s suspension weren’t enough to prevent Curry and Golden State from winning a first-round series.
But even if the Clippers don’t make it past the postseason, Golden State has climbed to the top of the NBA mountain four times since then. The 2014 series against Paul and the Clippers remains the Warriors’ last seven-game losing streak against a Western Conference opponent. Even with the Warriors 29-7 at home and 7-26 on the road entering Wednesday’s Jekyll and Hyde 2022-23 season, the Warriors remain the standard by which all challengers in the West are measured, with a video game’s ultimate boss lurking behind. Curry’s continued potential for an offensive breakout.
If the teams’ meeting Wednesday at the Crypto.com Arena represented a psychic test, more importantly, it was a pragmatic one.
With the teams entering with identical records and the Clippers needing a win to keep their hopes of breaking the tie alive, Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole were the perfect stress test to gauge whether the Clippers, and their three-core, improved defense. game winning streak, they were real.
They responded with a 134-126 victory, their fourth in a row, where Kawhi Leonard and coach Tyronn Lue praised the team’s composure amid a one-man show from Curry, who finished with 50 points on 20-of-28 shooting, including eight 3-pointers.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen (Steph) explode like that in a quarterback,” Leonard said. “Being there beforehand helps you stay focused in the moment.”
Clippers’ Paul George (13) celebrates his 3-pointer with Ivica Zubac (40) as Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) walks to the bench during the second half at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
(Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
In a five-game losing streak that began after last month’s All-Star break, sure wins disappeared in clutch moments. They have reversed that to start a new era. The Clippers had just one turnover in the second half. They grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Russell Westbrook played perhaps the most disciplined game of his Clippers tenure, with zero turnovers.
The victory separated the Clippers (37-33) and the Warriors (36-34) in the standings and again showed positive results from Eric Gordon (16 points) and Terance Mann (17 points) along with rookie Ivica Zubac (16 points) and Terance Mann (17 points) the positive results of the last line-up that he matched. 19 points, 16 rebounds), Leonard (30 points) and Paul George (24 points, seven assists).
“I think we’re starting to know our tendencies, we know when somebody’s going to pass you the ball or they’re going to cut you off; there’s all kinds of things that tie into chemistry and build on playing with each other.” Leonard said.
Through three quarters, a pattern developed: Golden State won the opening minutes on back-and-forth shots, with Lue forcing a quick timeout. The Clippers then stabilize and pull away, usually a product of their defense, before Curry and the Warriors push back for a frantic finish.
After Lue’s layup two minutes into the third quarter, after a 7-0 Warriors run, the Clippers went on a 16-2 run, aided by their defense. When George bounced Green’s layup, he found Gordon for a quick 27-foot 3-pointer. As Zubac slid to smother Kevon Looney’s shot attempt, Westbrook grabbed the loose ball and found Gordon again, this time for a 24-foot three-pointer and a 10-point lead. Gordon started the second half with forward Marcus Morris Sr. He was ejected late in the second quarter for hitting Green over the shoulder.
They were reminded that the most striking element of their comeback was not only the return of the defense that had weakened since the end of December, but that it reappeared at critical moments.
Since giving up a season-high 51 points to Memphis in one quarter, the Clippers have held their opponents to 40 percent or worse in seven of their last nine quarters entering Wednesday. And Memphis, Toronto and New York shot a combined 31 percent in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ three straight wins.
But as has been the case for the past decade, Curry stood between the Clippers and what they wanted.
Starting with 4:51 to play in the third quarter, the NBA’s all-time three-point king scored Golden State’s next 12 points, turning up the volume when he touched the ball and exploded for a pair of circus shots. it dropped because it exceeded 41 points. The Warriors shot 65 percent in the second quarter and 60 percent in the third as Curry made nine of 11 shots. They finished on 55% shooting, and yet the Clippers’ lead grew to 12 early in the fourth quarter, fueled by Mann doing everything, everywhere at once: collecting two offensive rebounds on a possession that ended with a basket and a foul. again, and then flexed before drawing an offensive foul on Golden State.
Curry then scored again. In a span of 72 seconds, the Warriors were stripped of six points and the Clippers’ ability to finish the job was again called into question as George’s ability to avoid ejection with five fouls.
But the Clippers didn’t allow a point from 3:41 to 1:13 left — allowing the lead to increase from six to 13, and with it the winning streak.