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 Reserve guard Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and grabbed seven
rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers shook off a rough shooting
display to defeat the Warriors 100-86 on Thursday night at Staples
Center.
Point guard Chris Paul had 22 points, seven rebounds and four
assists and forward Blake Griffin finished with 18 points, 15
rebounds and six assists for the Clippers (20-10), who ended a
two-game losing streak. Center DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 12
rebounds.
"We just tried to stay the course," said Paul, who hit seven of 18
shots, including four of 10 from behind the 3-point arc, of the
team's offensive struggles. "Those guys came out hot. We had great
shots. Guys had good looks, but our defense helped us win the game."
Shooting guard Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 15 points, while
point guard Stephen Curry finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and
seven assists. Forward Harrison Barnes had 12 points and 13 rebounds
as Golden State (23-5) dropped its second straight and its third in
the past 21 games. The Warriors also lost 115-105 to the Los Angeles
Lakers on Tuesday night.
 Unlike their setback against the Lakers, the Warriors controlled the
first half before falling apart in the second one. They also fell to
a Clippers' squad that shot 27.7 percent in the first half -- 39.1
percent overall to 42.5 percent for Golden State -- while the
Warriors made 45 percent.
"We kind of relaxed and gave up the lead, and that was tough to come
back from," said Curry, who connected on five-of-12 shooting, but
missed four of his five 3-point attempts. Curry also committed five
turnovers. "We played so much better, we felt like it the whole
game. We just didn't have enough to show for it going into the half.
We just didn't have it offensively. We've got to play better."
It was the first meeting in Los Angeles between the two clubs since
the Clippers captured last season's first-round playoff series in
seven games. Golden State, though, won the initial regular-season
encounter, a 121-104 rout on Nov. 5 in Oakland.
A 15-4 run to open the fourth quarter gave the Clippers an 88-74
advantage after Jordan's dunk with 6:48 left and sealed the win. The
Warriors were unable to get any closer than 12 the rest of the way.
"Neither team really shot the ball well," Clippers coach Doc Rivers
said. "It really came down to mental toughness, having the ability
to hang in there, and we did that."
The Warriors failed to take advantage of the Clippers' slow start.
After a Jordan dunk opened the scoring, the Clippers missed 16 shots
in a row. Still, the Warriors managed just a 20-18 lead after one
period and 42-41 at the half.
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"In the first half, we should have been up by 15," Curry said.
In the third, though, the Clippers found their stroke. A three-point
play and a 3-pointer by Paul gave them a 67-61 lead with 3:23
remaining in the quarter. Golden State cut the margin to one before
Paul's layup to end the quarter put Los Angeles up 73-70.
But Golden State had trouble offensively in the final period,
managing just 22.7 percent shooting to 58.8 percent for Los Angeles.
"We've lost two in a row now and we haven't done that all season,"
said Warriors forward Draymond Green, who scored 10 points and
pulled down 10 rebounds. "But we've given ourselves a little
cushion. Now it's time to continue to get better. We're going to try
to get our rhythm back in our offense. Our last two games we haven't
really had that rhythm and that flow. We haven't had that the last
few games."
The Clippers, though, converted 23 of 31 free throws (74.2 percent)
to only 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) for the Warriors.
NOTES: Warriors C Andrew Bogut, who missed his eighth game with a
right knee injury, is improving and could begin on-court workouts
soon, coach Steve Kerr said. "It's hard to put a number on (when
Bogut will return), but he's doing better and hopefully he'll be out
on the court in the next few days," Kerr said. ... Clippers backup C
Spencer Hawes sat out his eighth contest with a left knee bruise.
There is no timetable for his return. ... Golden State opens a
six-game homestand Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. ...
The Clippers play the second game of their nine-game run at Staples
Center on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.
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