Warriors’ Defense Solid, But Offense Comes Late In Game 3 Loss to Clippers

Apr 24, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) high fives guard Chris Paul (3) after a play against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter of game three of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night was a wild one at “roaracle”, but for much of the night, those crazy fans had almost nothing to cheer about. The Los Angeles Clippers waltzed in and stole their home court advantage back. After an exhilirating game, LAC came out on top to win the game, and take a 2-1 series advantage over Golden State by a final score of 98-96.

Stephen Curry, who scored 16 points, and Klay Thompson, who scored 26 points, came alive in the fourth quarter, but other than that, the Warriors were stone cold from the field. How they managed to stay in the game is beyond comprehension. They scored 21 points in the first, 22 points in the second, and 21 points in the third quarter. In the fourth, they finally exploded for 32.But the Clippers’ bigs could not be contained.

But it was too little, too late. The first half was fairly close, but with the offense that the Warriors’ had, a 5-point deficit seemed to be a 20-point deficit. But things started to pick up when Draymond Green electrified the crowd and the Warriors, leading them back to a 3-point game entering halftime, where I’m sure Mark Jackson gave them a lecture.

Whatever was said at halftime, however, didn’t seem to work out well. The Clippers started off the third quarter blazing, on a 17-4 run, while the Dubs were left in the dust. They were able to make up some of the point differential, but other than that, their offensive game was still quite dead. Heading into the fourth, the Warriors trailed by 11 points.

Here, things obviously started to pick up. Green was once again in charge of the furious rally, and what was an 18-point Clipper lead eventually shrunk to 1 when Thompson made a difficult shot over DeAndre Jordan, who finished with 14 points and 22 rebounds. If only the Warriors had someone that was about his height and size!

In the final minutes, Blake Griffin, who scored 32 points, hit a difficult fade-away jump-shot at the end of the shot clock to give the Clippers a 3-point lead. On the next Clipper possession, Green fouled out of the game after he and Griffin collided. The call could have gone either way. Shortly after, Chris Paul stepped back for a deep 3-pointer in David Lee’s face. Nothing but the bottom of the net, and LA led by 8.

After playing the fouling game, Curry single handedly brought the Warriors back in the game with two big 3-pointers. Curry’s desperation 3-pointer in the last second was an airball, and he plead for a foul but didn’t get the call. Unable to do much else, however, the Warriors fell to the Clippers 98-96.

The loss of Andrew Bogut is very evident. Paul can be contained by Thompson, but Bogut is big enough defensively to take out Blake Griffin’s 30-point games. He could also grab some of those extra rebounds. Without him, the Warriors have mightily struggled to find a solution.

They now get three days to rest until Game 4, where they will essentially fighting for their season. In order to win the series, they need to grab another game in LA. It may be possible, but they’re going to need some magic; where is it going to come from?