The Clippers fought hard on defense, but awful turnovers and a vintage Steph Curry performance doomed them in a 105-90 loss to the Warriors. Keep reading for a full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Warriors.
Summary
The first half of this game all kind of blended together. Both teams were horrific on offense and stellar on defense, but the Warriors’ poor scoring was more on shots rimming out and awful free throw shooting (6-13) then poor execution. The Clippers suffered from their share of simple missed shots, especially from Luke Kennard and Marcus Morris, but looked totally out of sorts due to the Warriors’ activity and physicality. They turned the ball over a staggering 12 times to just 7 assists, and looked even worse than that. They moved slowly and robotically, staring down passing targets at times and throwing the ball wildly at others. More than anything, they seemed hesitant, passing up semi-decent looks for worse shots and giveaways. They only stayed in th game through their own strong defense, a lot of free throws (11-15), and great offensive rebounding (11 total). Still, it was grim watching, and the Warriors only holding a three-point lead was a minor miracle.
The third quarter started much like the first two for the Clippers, with awful turnovers and poor shooting. Unfortunately, Steph Curry started clicking, and the Warriors lead swiftly grew to 11. The Clippers’ offensive struggles continued, yet the Clippers hung around through improved defense and some free throws. Finally, with around 4:40 left, the Clippers inserted Isaiah Hartenstein, and the Clippers finally found some energy on offense. The hoop opened up, and George was able to get several jumpers to fall. However, the Clippers fell further behind, as Jordan Poole hit four threes in a mater of minutes to grow the Warriors’ lead to seven.
With Paul George out to rest, the Clippers’ offense reverted to sludge, and the Warriors pressed their attack once more. Steph Curry got about as animated as you’ll ever see him in a regular season game when Terance Mann stripped him on a drive and didn’t get a call, but Reggie Jackson missed the technical, and Curry’s anger sealed this one. Now fully fired up, Curry began to catch fire as only he can, draining a series of ridiculous threes and making a couple floaters as well. Paul George responded with a couple baskets, but it was not nearly enough, and the Warriors’ 18 point lead with around six to go essentially ended things. The starters hung around for another couple minutes, but made no impact, and the last few minutes of the game were pure garbage time.
Notes
Overthinking, Overpassing on Offense: The Clippers had a ridiculous 25 turnovers in this one to only 18 assists (with several of those coming in garbage time), and while a few were just sloppy handles, most of them were on overpassing. Time after time, Clippers would make a move and instead of going up for a shot would try to force a pass cross court or between multiple defenders. They completely lacked aggression outside of Paul George and Marcus Morris, and were seemingly reluctant to take even decent semi-contested looks. Two of the biggest culprits were Luke Kennard and Terance Mann, who were clearly overthinking things instead of letting the game flow and taking shots available to them. The Clippers need to execute tighter, but they also just need to be more aggressive in getting shots up.
Marcus Morris Looking Healthy-Ish: Marcus Morris had by far his best game of the season, scoring 13 points and adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists as well. Most of those points came early, and he offered nothing late, but still, he appeared fairly spry, and his shot looks improved. The Clippers need more from him as a scorer, especially with Nic Batum out, but he was solid in this one. The lack of quickness did definitely show on defense and some scrambles for loose balls, so hopefully that continues to improve over time.
Forgettable Reggie Game: This might have been Reggie Jackson’s worst game as a Clipper. He scored zero points in 21 minutes, and only got up five shots, with two of them being horrible looks when the game was slipping away. Foul trouble plagued him early, but he looked utterly shaken out there from the start, and was entirely ineffective on both ends. The Clippers are not going to win many games against anyone with Reggie putting up nothing in the scoring column, and even fewer against contenders like the Warriors.
Hart vs. Serge: Serge Ibaka played nine first quarter minutes and was ineffectual, scoring two points on 1-4 shooting and collecting a few rebounds. He wasn’t dreadful, but he also didn’t do very much. Isaiah Hartenstein played over him in the second half, and the difference in energy, athleticism, and impact on both ends was immediately evident. Hartenstein had six points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 12 minutes, and just looks better than Serge. I get Lue trying to work Serge back in, but Hartenstein is just better than Serge right now, and the Clippers are losing minutes by playing Ibaka over Hart or Zu.
Mixed Crowd: Live at the game, it was clear the crowd leaned Warriors. While there were plenty of Clippers fans present, and times where the faithful overwhelmed the Warriors’ fans, by the end, when the Curry show happened, it may as well have been a road game. Steph has fans all over, and is particularly popular in LA, so this wasn’t surprising, but it still had to have been discouraging for the Clippers’ players.
That’s it for this recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Warriors. Comment on the results and commiserate below!
