Curry, Thompson Help Warriors Hold Off Clippers, 110-106
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Klay Thompson added 25 and the Golden State Warriors held off the Los Angeles Clippers 110-106 Tuesday night for their 10th consecutive victory.
The Clippers blew a 17-point lead and had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Blake Griffin scored 40 points, Chris Paul added 27 and J.J. Redick 14.
Paul's layup drew the Clippers to 106-104 with 12 seconds left, but he was called for a backcourt violation while taking an inbounds pass from DeAndre Jordan with 9 seconds left.
Thompson and Curry combined on four straight free throws to close out the win for the Pacific Division champions.
David Lee added 17 points for the Warriors, who had lost four in a row at Staples Center, where the crowd created a playoff atmosphere. They booed to drown out the chants of "MVP" for Curry by the many Warriors fans.
Neither team led by more than three points for much of the fourth quarter.
The Warriors were ahead 103-100 when Jordan got fouled. He made the first and caught a break with a lane violation on the second. Jordan took advantage and hit that one, too, leaving the Clippers trailing by one.
Then the Clippers got unlucky. Matt Barnes was called for a foul on Andre Iguodala, who had already put up a 3-pointer before Barnes got to him in front of the Clippers' bench. Iguodala made all three free throws, extending the Warriors' lead to 106-102.
Redick missed a 3-pointer and Paul missed a 3 and another jumper before his layup got the Clippers within two with 12 seconds to go.
Thompson and Curry combined to score 19 straight points early in the third, with each of them hitting 3-pointers, to pull the Warriors into a 67-all tie. A minute later, Curry's 3-pointer gave the Warriors their first lead, 72-71.
It didn't last long. The Clippers countered with a 17-10 spurt, including eight by Paul, to take an 88-82 lead into the fourth. Marreese Speights got called for technical and personal fouls after claiming he tripped over Paul, who converted all three during the run.
The Clippers dominated the first 19 minutes of the game, building their largest lead of 44-27 behind 18 points by Griffin. Then Curry got the Warriors untracked with a four-point play, launching a 19-9 run that left Golden State trailing 53-46 at halftime. Curry scored seven straight points, faking Paul to the floor on a jumper from the left corner after dribbling behind his back.
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TIP-INS
Warriors: F Draymond Green, the team's leading scorer off the bench at 11.8 points per game, didn't play to rest his shins. ... The bench outscored the Clippers' reserves 34-12.
Clippers: Griffin had a season-high 16 field goals. It was his second game this season with 40 or more points. ... Los Angeles' only win over the Warriors came at home on Christmas.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Host Phoenix on Thursday.
Clippers: At Portland on Wednesday.
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