It didn’t seem like enough: Stephen Curry was starting to heat up.
Advertisement
It wasn’t.
Curry scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half, going 5 of 7 from deep, despite clearly being bothered by his right knee issue. It sparked a double-digit fourth-quarter comeback by the Warriors, 126-121 in a dramatic play-in game.“Everyone who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off, this is what she does,” coach Steve Kerr said, pounding the table. “This is who he is.”
With this victory, the Warriors advance and will travel to Phoenix on Friday for a final game in which they will win and be qualified. The Clippers’ season has come to an early and unceremonious end, despite an impressive second half of the season.
Advertisement
It wasn’t just Curry who lifted the Warriors. Al Horford turned back the clock in the fourth quarter and went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in the frame. Draymond Green had a strong defensive night against Kawhi Leonard, including a clutch steal near midcourt to help seal the victory. The Warriors got 20-point games from Gui Santons (on 9-of-13 shooting) and Kristaps Porzingis (8-of-12).
“I just told (the team), with all the wins we’ve had here, a lot of them had a lot more on the line, this is up there,” Kerr said. “Just because, where we are and our age and the decline in our performance this year, and the injuries, it was just a beautiful display of competitive will.
A big part of what the Warriors did was keep Leonard in check. He finished with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, but was just 2-of-6 with Green as the primary defender. More than just Green, the Warriors scored early doubles as Leonard began to step up and make his move. This stat sums up the Clippers’ night: In the first half, LA was +16 in Leonard’s 20 minutes, but -8 in the four minutes he sat. For the game, Leonard was a +7.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Clippers with 23 points off the bench, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Darius Garland finished with 21 points but battled foul trouble most of the night.
The Clippers now head into the postseason with a cloud hanging over them in the form of the league’s investigation into Leonard and the franchise’s dealings with the team’s former sponsor, Aspiration. There is speculation in the league about Leonard’s future with the Clippers, a team that traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac during the season.
Advertisement
The day will come when the Warriors need to answer questions about their future, but for now the only future they care about is Friday night in Phoenix and a chance to get back to the playoffs.
“We’ve had a really tough season in a lot of ways, and we’re looking at it as a free swing,” Kerr said of the play-in before the game. “If we can get a win tonight, have another chance on Friday, and we’ll be in the tournament, and then you’ll have a chance, and that’s it, that’s all you really want.”