Rival Los Angeles Clippers Halt Golden State Warriors’ 5-Game Winning Streak
By Tej Kamaraju
March 12, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) moves the ball against Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Well, with the two teams coming into this game Wednesday night with a combined 13 straight games won, one of the streaks had to come to an end. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Clippers were able to halt their 5-game losing streak in the end of the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter. The final score was 111-98.
As hard as the Warriors played, they were never able to get back into the game. Blake Griffin, who has been on a tear lately, finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds, and a couple of dazzling put-back dunks and highlights as usual.
The story of the night for the Warriors was the poor bench play once again. In the past couple of weeks, the bench had been fairly good with some solid games to back up the starters. Wednesday night, however, the bench fell cold, scoring just points on % from the field. As for the Warriors starters, Klay Thompson scored 26 points, Stephen Curry scored 13 points to go with 11 assists, and David Lee scored 20 points.
For the Clippers, Chris Paul scored, and. At the end of the day, the Clippers outplayed the Dubs who fell cold in the final minutes of game: they scored just 11 points in 10 minutes at one stretch during a large Clipper run. With 5:23 remaining in the third quarter, the Warrior reserves squandered a 7-point lead and had their team trailing entering the fourth. The Clippers were 25-0, now 26-0 when leading at the end of the third quarter at home.
It’s pretty simple. You cannot win a ballgame if your bench produces far worse numbers than your opponents bench with the starters from both teams playing equally well. Danny Granger scored 18 points and Willie Green scored 13 points.
No Warriors reserve has more than one field goal. Danny Granger and Willie Green have combined for 12 FGs off L.A.'s bench (31 points)
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 13, 2014
The series between the Warriors and the Clippers now lies at a stalemate of 2-2: the Warriors won their two home games, and the Clippers won their two home games. One win for each team was closer, and one win for each team was a blowout. This game, with a final score of 111-98 has a misleading score, with the Clippers having their biggest lead at the end of the game.
The question now becomes: will these two teams meet again?