Williams, Clippers top Warriors to stay alive

[April 25, 2019]  Lou Williams responded to the Golden State Warriors taking their first lead of the second half with a four-point play with 2:32 remaining Wednesday night, igniting a late run that gave the Los Angeles Clippers a 129-121 victory over the two-time defending champions in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series at Oakland, Calif.

The Clippers' second win of the series on the Warriors' court sets up a sixth game in the best-of-seven on Friday night in Los Angeles, with Golden State retaining a 3-2 lead.

After trailing by nine points in the first half, 71-63 at halftime and by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, the Warriors used a 14-3 run to go up 118-117 on a drive and dunk by Kevin Durant with 2:40 remaining.

The lead was Golden State's first since early in the second quarter.

But the Clippers, facing elimination, dominated the remainder of the game, triggered by Williams' 3-pointer on which he was fouled by Durant.

The free throw made it a four-point play and a three-point lead, and Los Angeles never trailed again.

Williams added a pair of short jumpers to increase the advantage to 125-118 with just 1:29 to go, and the Warriors, relegated to shooting 3-pointers, never mustered much of a rally.

Williams finished with 33 points for the Clippers, who have lost both home games in the series.

Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 26 points, Montrezl Harrell 24, Patrick Beverley 17 and JaMychal Green 15 for the Clippers, who overpowered the Warriors offensively with 54.1 percent field-goal shooting.

Williams and Beverley completed double-doubles, Williams with a game-high 10 assists and Beverley with a game-high 14 rebounds.

Durant led all scorers with 45 points for the top-seeded Warriors, who had a chance to move into a second-round matchup with the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets had they won.

Clippers guard Lou Williams (23) shoots the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen Curry added 24 points and Klay Thompson 22 for Golden State, which shot 44.8 percent from the floor.

The Clippers built their lead in the first half, during which they shot 56 percent and enjoyed a 21-16 rebounding advantage.

The Warriors countered with 51.2 percent shooting and 10-for-16 success on 3-point tries, yet still couldn't keep pace with a team that already had four scorers in double figures in the first 24 minutes.

Williams produced 18 of his 33 points in the first half. Gallinari had 16 points, Beverley 14 and Harrell 10 in the half.

Durant led the Warriors in the half with 21, but Curry was held to 10 points on 2-for-6 shooting.

--Field Level Media

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