The Warriors make it last

This morning in France, the NBA fans who were not able to watch GSW-Clippers in the night were certainly convinced that they would wake up and listen to the news, where they would learn, without too much surprise, that Golden State had beaten the Los Angeles Clippers and was consequently qualified for the next round. Wrong deduction!

As a matter of fact, the series continues since the Clippers won in Oakland 129-121, making up their delay from 1-3 to 2-3 in this West Conf series. The Houston Rockets of James Harden, who got rid of the Utah Jazz 4-1 last night, will have to wait for the name of their next opponent in semifinals of conference.

At Oracle Arena yesterday, the Warriors, without DeMarcus Cousins, dominated the first quarter 41-37 before the Clippers took the lead in the next two ones (22-34 and 31-33) thanks to Danilo Gallinari (26 points), Lou Williams (33 points) and Montrezl Harrell (24 points). Motivated to stay alive in this series in a game that could be their last one in case of defeat, the Clippers relied on their usual strengths to make a genuine exploit consisting in winning twice in Oakland in a playoffs series against Golden State. At this time and with such an achievement, an elimination, even facing Steph Curry and Cie, could sound like a disappointment for the second franchise from LA.

Nigerian American Andre Iguodala had only 3 points (but 8 assists) in 27 minutes on the court. The duo Curry-Thompson cumulated 46 points, one point more than Kevin Durant (45) who was the big guy on the Warriors’ side in spite of the defeat with a 14/26 on shot. We will not call it a worrying defeat, but a possible 3-3 next Friday could really give headaches to the champions in title, who did not expect the confrontation against the last qualified team in the West to be that tight.

By Guillaume Mahot

Sources: www.beinsports.com, www.google.fr, www.lequipe.fr

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