Warriors at Clippers
One of the few close calls for the Golden State this season came against the Los Angeles Clippers, and the heated rivalry will continue when the Warriors visit the Clippers on Thursday. Golden State escaped with a win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, extending its franchise record to 12 straight wins to begin the season.
The Warriors nearly squandered an 18-point lead against the Raptors but came through down the stretch as Stephen Curry buried a go-ahead 3-pointer and Draymond Green dropped a floater in the lane late in the 115-110 triumph. “You need these close games later on down the line,” Green told reporters. “Every game can’t be a 20- or 30-point win. It’s never going to be that way. It’s good to win that way, but you need games like this.” The Clippers put Golden State through one such game on Nov. 4, when the Warriors overcame a deficit in the fourth quarter and grabbed a 112-108 win. Los Angeles dropped four of five beginning with that setback but managed to turn things around with a 101-96 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (12-0): Stephen Curry posted his eighth 30-point effort of the season with 37 on Tuesday but also committed a season-high seven turnovers as Golden State survived despite some sloppy play. “Our guys have a special gift to make big plays,” interim head coach Luke Walton told reporters. “And it’s not just one or two of them, it’s that whole lineup that we had out there at the end of the game.” Curry’s only turnover-free performance of the young season came against the Clippers, when he also scored 31 points and buried seven 3-pointers.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (6-4): Point guard Chris Paul suffered a groin injury late in the loss at Golden State and is still feeling the effects. The All-Star sat out three of the last five games – going 6-of-21 from the floor in the two he played - and will not rush back just to face a rival in November. “If it’s close, he’s not playing, I can tell you that,” Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “On a Thursday in the middle of the season, we’re not going to overdo this.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers G J.J. Redick (back) is also questionable for Thursday.
2. Los Angeles G Jamal Crawford got a start on Saturday and collected season highs of 37 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
3. Golden State G Shaun Livingston (hip flexor) sat out Tuesday and is day-to-day.