Clippers punch Warriors in the face

The Golden State Warriors did not win their Monday night game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors did not even come close to winning their game against the Clippers, for that matter. The Warriors lost their game against the Clippers 119-104, which is a closer final score than it should have been.

Maybe it was the infamous LA hangover that plagues visitors of the artist formerly known as Staples Center. Maybe it was that compounded with the Super Bowl taking place in the city on Sunday ... that famed nightlife is only more dangerous when there’s a wild Gronkowski partaking in it.

Or maybe it was just that a Clippers team missing Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Norman Powell, that sold off some assets at the deadline, dramatically outplayed the Warriors.

That seems about right.

Things started well enough for the Dubs, and by “things” I mean “Steph Curry.” The Warriors superstar was blistering hot out of the gates, making his first six shots — including four threes — for 16 first-quarter points. It jump-started a refreshingly good looking Warriors offense, which scored enough points (37) in the first frame to overcome the large amount that they allowed (34).

The Dubs built things up to a nine-point lead early in the second quarter, and hopefully that’s when your friend called you and invited you over to do something — anything — other than watch the game. Los Angeles immediately responded with a 14-0 run to take the lead, and at that point the Warriors said, “ehh, screw it,” and that was the game.

LA took a two-point lead into the break, and came out firing in the third quarter. They quickly pushed the lead to double digits, and led by 16 when the quarter ended. That lead ballooned to 25 points in the fourth quarter, before some garbage time house tidying by the bench made the deficit slightly more respectable before the buzzer rang.

Curry gave it his best effort, finishing with 33 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 8-for-13 from three-point range. His shooting was electric, but the rest of the squad combined to shoot just 28-for-68 from the field, and 8-for-28 from distance. No one other than Curry had a strong offensive game.

On the other end of things, Terance Mann was spectacular for the Clippers, netting 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, while shooting 11-for-17 from the field and having a big shot seemingly every time the Warriors threatened. Reggie Jackson provided multiple kill shots en route to 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, and all of LA’s starters reached double figures.

The loss dropped Golden State to 42-16, and five games behind the Phoenix Suns in the standings. They’ll return home for a Wednesday game against the Denver Nuggets before taking a week off for the All-Star break. It sure looks like they could use it.

Be sure to check out the post-game Twitch stream.