The top two sharpshooters in NBA history squared off Monday night — Clippers three-point king James Harden and Golden State long-distance wonder Stephen Curry bringing a high level of excitement to the Intuit Dome.
They had one crowd-pleasing moment in the first quarter when Harden drilled a three-pointer only for Curry to follow up with a three on the next possession.
For the Clippers, their focus was on slowing down a potent Warriors offense and stopping Curry, who entered the game with the most three-pointers in NBA history at 3,782.
The Clippers achieved their goals on defense, holding back the Warriors just enough to pull off a thrilling 102-99 win that wasn’t sealed until the final buzzer.
“However we got a win, we got a win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “So, it doesn’t matter. Defensively, I thought we did a good job… and then rebounding the basketball.”
The Clippers appeared to be in control once they built a 10-point lead with 2:30 remaining, but they failed to score the rest of the way.
After the Clippers’ 10-point lead was cut to three, a costly turnover in the final seconds nearly sent the game into overtime.
Golden State’s Gary Payton II stole the ball from Norman Powell with 21 seconds left. But Curry, who had 26 points and was six for 15 from three-point range, missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. Draymond Green got the rebound and the ball eventually got to Payton, who missed another three-point try with 2.2 seconds left to secure the Clippers’ second victory over Golden State (10-3) this season.
Both teams struggled with turnovers — the Clippers had 20 and the Warriors 19.
Powell led the Clippers with 23 points, including five three pointers. Harden had 12 points and 16 assists, but was four for 15 from the field and two for six from three-point range.
“It was a little bit of everything,” Harden said. “We had opportunities to score. We turned the ball over a couple of times. They missed shots. We didn’t rebound. They get offensive rebounds. They get more chances. So, we’re just happy to come out with the win.”
Harden, who moved into sole possession of second place on the NBA’s all-time three-pointer list Sunday, still found a way to play nearly 41 minutes despite not feeling well.
“We got a mission, we got a goal,” he said. “For me, if I’m able to run and still be myself… Like, I’ve played through injuries where I couldn’t really run. So, this little sickness — where it’s chest tightness — wasn’t going to stop me from playing. I’m just happy that we came out with the win.”
The Clippers played well defensively in the first half, holding the Warriors to 45 points on 44.7% shooting, including 33.3% on threes. They took advantage of 13 turnovers by the Warriors to build an 11-point halftime lead despite having 11 turnovers.
The Warriors are averaging 121.3 points per game, the third-best mark in the NBA. They lead the league in assists (30.3), are second in three-point shooting percentage (39.2) and second in rebounding (49.0). The Clippers managed to overcome those lofty marks despite playing on back-to-back nights.
“Just really proud of our group,” Lue said. “It was on a back-to-back and to come in with this kind of effort tonight, just pleased with that.”
Etc: Kawhi Leonard continues to deal with inflammation in his right knee and is out indefinitely. “He’s out all week,” Lue said.
Asked to describe what Leonard has been able to do, Lue said, “shooting a little bit.”
