Los Angeles Clippers Have Fun In 40-Point Thrashing Of Golden State Warriors in Game 2

Apr 21, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers huddle before the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game two during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone was saying that the Los Angeles Clippers were going to come back with a vengeance after a heart-breaking loss in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors. Right they were. In Game 2, Monday night, the Clippers could do absolutely no wrong as they were able to completely maul the Warriors and run them out of the gym, 138-98, to even the series at 1-1.

The Clippers were able to take the Warriors completely out of the picture by first taking out Stephen Curry, who scored 24 points. Klay Thompson got into foul trouble, scoring seven points. David Lee was no help either with 11 points. They shot 47 percent from the field, committed 26 turnovers, and racked up 33 personal fouls.

As for LAC, Chris Paul scored 12 points, dished out 10 assists, and had five steals. Blake Griffin, who fouled out in Game 1, scored 35 points. DeAndre Jordan scored 11 points, and the Clippers shot the ball at 56 percent, committing 13 turnovers, and had 22 personal fouls as opposed to the Warriors’ 33.

This game started off very similar to Game 1, when the Clippers led the ballgame 15-4. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were unable to ever make the deficit up. The Clippers continued to pound the Warriors, attack the paint, and hit 3-pointers; their bench unit outplayed the Warriors’ as well. In the first half, everything that could have gone wrong for the Warriors went wrong.

In the third quarter, the Warriors started to try some new things in order to prepare for Game 3. They started double teaming, and that opened the Warriors’ offensive game a little bit. Fortunately for the Clippers, it wasn’t enough because the Warriors’ defensive effort wasn’t enough. Curry’s emotions boiled over when he got a technical foul for yelling at the ref, asking for a foul. He didn’t get the call, and the Warriors continued to get banged up.

Angry, Curry took over the game for the Warriors, but the defensive effort wasn’t there. While the offensive game was solid, Curry alone was able to match the Clippers’ production by continually attacking the basket and finishing among the Clipper bigs. At the end of the third, the Clippers led the Warriors 105-73.

The fourth quarter, as one could imagine, was complete garbage time, and the Warriors still got outscored. LAC scored 30 or more points in each quarter. The Warriors were living on that poor half, and although the third quarter was fairly close, they could not escape a fairly poor first half, which was ultimately their demise.

The Warriors now go back to Oracle Arena as a resilient team, still with home court advantage. They’re going to want to get revenge on the Clippers, and winning a couple at home would be very advantageous.