The LA Clippers got one of their best wins of the season, 119-104, against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night ahead of a tough back-to-back stretch.
Game Summary
With a huge back-to-back looming on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns on the road, the Clippers came out focused and disciplined against the Golden State Warriors from the start of the game.
The Warriors are a team with a lot of offensive firepower that can put up points in a hurry, and they certainly did that to open the game. Stephen Curry started off a perfect 6-6, 4-4 from three-point range as the Warriors dropped an offensive barrage of the Clippers.
What was impressive though, was the Clippers matched the Warriors point for point. As hot as the Warriors shooting was, the Clippers were equally hot. Terance Mann came out aggressive early hitting a couple of pull-up jumpers in the midrange and that helped set the tone for him and for the team for the rest of the game.
Ivica Zubac also came out aggressive to start the game not only with recognizing mismatches and taking advantage of scoring opportunities in the paint, but making the right reads off the short roll.
Despite the Clippers hot shooting, the Warriors would hold a 37-34 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Clippers’ hot shooting from distance continued into the second quarter with Isaiah Hartenstein even getting into the act with a corner three. Reggie Jackson, who played a fantastic floor game, kept the Warriors defense’ on their toes, carving them up with his playmaking throughout the first half.
The Warriors kept pace though, and the Clipper halftime lead was a mere two points, 61-59.
Throughout this season, the Clippers have had some very good third quarters, especially in games when they’ve been trailing big and need to get back in the game. It was the opposite this game, as the Clippers led at the half but still came out in big third quarter mode. Jackson continued to pick apart the Warriors defense and he even threw down a dunk over Andrew Wiggins.
Midway through the third quarter, the Clippers had opened up a 78-65 lead. They did a much better job focusing on Curry defensively, and he didn’t get his first points of the second half until after the three minute mark. His four point play threatened to ignite a Warriors run and cut into the Clipper lead, but that was when Mann took over. He scored ten straight points to end the third quarter and put the Clippers ahead 94-78.
The Warriors never challenged in the fourth quarter and the exclamation point came at the 4:45 mark when Jackson found Hartenstein for an emphatic alley-oop.
Notes
- Robert Covington is going to be a big part of this team. An underrated player for much of his career, Covington had a great game tonight leading the bench with 11 points on 2-4 shooting from three. His ability to play the stretch four and some small-ball five as well as guard multiple positions gives the Clippers a lot of options on the court. He adds to the team’s ability to play different styles. Getting him along with Norman Powell was an absolute win for the Clippers.
- Terance Mann has gradually looked more and more like the player many were expecting after last season, especially his playoff performances. His offensive game has become very well-rounded and he hurt the Warriors in multiple ways. He was pulling-up from midrange off he dribble, he was putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim, and he was knocking down the open three off catch and shoot situations. This kind of consistency for him is key in the second half of the season and will go a long way to how this team finishes.
- Aggressive Ivica Zubac is good Ivica Zubac. There are still times when it seems like he doesn’t assert himself as much as he should, but when he’s locked in like he was against the Warriors, there aren’t many centers in the NBA better than him. His decision making off the short roll is phenomenal. He knows when he has a scoring opportunity and he knows when he should look to pass. He’s very good at recognizing mismatches and taking advantage in the paint. He’s also become so good defensively on the perimeter than it’s not at all a mismatch when he gets switched out onto a wing on the perimeter.
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