Warriors at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers surrendered homecourt advantage by failing to execute down the stretch in Game 1. The Clippers will attempt to clean up those mistakes and keep the Golden State Warriors from gaining a commanding lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series when they host Game 2 on Monday. Los Angeles managed to contain Stephen Curry in Game 1 but Blake Griffin battled foul trouble and was outplayed by David Lee.
Clippers star Chris Paul committed a turnover and missed two free throws down the stretch in Game 1 and Darren Collison fumbled the ball out of bounds down by three with the final seconds ticking away as Golden State claimed a 109-105 victory. The animosity between the two Pacific Division rivals was the big story before the series and both clubs battled foul trouble in Game 1, with Griffin joining Warriors forward Andre Iguodala in watching the final seconds from the bench after fouling out. Golden State matched a franchise record with 24 road wins during the regular season and was not intimidated by the hostile surroundings in the first-round opener.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State committed 23 turnovers and squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead but held the Clippers scoreless over the final 1:30 to lock up the win. Curry was hounded the entire game and finished with 14 points but Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green both hit big shots and Klay Thompson went for 22 points. “We got great shooting but we made great decisions out of it,” coach Mark Jackson told reporters. “They made a decision of trying to get the ball out of (Curry’s) hands by the way they were defending pick-and-rolls. We were patient enough to make the proper plays.” The Warriors are without center Andrew Bogut (broken rib) in the series but still managed a 48-42 advantage on the glass as Lee grabbed 13 boards.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Griffin scored 16 points in only 19 minutes and fouled out on a loose ball call in the final minute as the referees whistled a total of 51 fouls. “We didn’t play very well,” coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “We were in foul trouble most of the game. … I thought we played hard and we came to win the game, but I thought there were a lot of times where we lost our trust in as far as what we were doing. We made too many mistakes to win the game.” Paul hit a pair of big 3-pointers to get Los Angeles back into the game late in the fourth but committed six turnovers and five fouls while trying to contain Curry and Thompson.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers C DeAndre Jordan collected 14 rebounds and five blocks in Game 1.
2. Golden State beat No. 3 seed Denver in the first round last season after losing Game 1 on the road.
3. Los Angeles has dropped five straight postseason games.