Warriors at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers told people they were contenders to the Golden State Warriors in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference the previous two seasons, they just failed to prove it on the court. The Clippers will take their first shot of 2016-17 at the two-time defending West champs when they host Wednesday's game against the Warriors, who just found Klay Thompson's shooting stroke.
Los Angeles dropped three in a row on the road but seemed to right the ship with impressive wins at Cleveland and New Orleans before stumbling in its return home with a 111-102 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Two straight springs the Clippers bowed out of the playoffs one round before a planned meeting with Golden State, and random letdowns like the four losses in the last six games are starting to make the 2016-17 edition of Los Angeles look just like the last several. Thompson went 4-of-20 from the floor in a loss to Houston on Thursday but started to pick things up against Phoenix on Saturday and ended the homestand by pouring in a career-high 60 points on 21-of-33 shooting in 29 minutes during Monday's 142-106 demolition of the Indiana Pacers. "Think it started for me when I got a few layups in the beginning," Thompson told reporters. "That really opened up my game. Whenever I'm active off the ball, that's when I'm at my best."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (18-3): Thompson became the first Golden State player to reach 60 points since Rick Barry totaled 64 on March 26, 1974, and didn't even play the fourth quarter with the Warriors owning a big lead. "I felt like every shot I took was a good shot," Thompson told reporters. "It's the way I was playing off my teammates, too. It's easy to get open looks when you're running off Zaza (Pachulia) and Draymond (Green) all night." Thompson averaged 26.3 points while burying 53.8 percent of his 3-point attempts in four games against Los Angeles last season.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (16-6): Los Angeles recorded more turnovers (20) than assists (19) in the loss to the Pacers and was outscored 35-17 in the third quarter. "We played very poorly, especially in the third quarter," All-Star forward Blake Griffin told reporters. "I just didn't think we had it tonight, and you could tell by the types of shots we were missing and the turnovers we had." Griffin was the bright spot with 24 points and 16 rebounds and is enjoying a string of three straight double-doubles - one points-assists and two points-rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers PG Chris Paul committed five turnovers on Sunday after totaling two in the previous two games.
2. Warriors PG Stephen Curry helped Thompson with a season-high 11 assists on Monday - the second time he reached double figures in the category this season.
3. Golden State swept the four-game series in 2015-16 and took the last six from Los Angeles.