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Clippers 138, Warriors 98
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
LOS ANGELES — Forward Blake Griffin scored 35 points, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 138-98 blowout of the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals Monday night at Staples Center.
Griffin connected on 13 of 17 shots from the field and nine of 10 free throws. He also had six rebounds. Point guard Chris Paul had 12 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals, while forward Danny Granger came off the bench to score 15 points. Forward Hedo Turkoglu finished with 13 points and center DeAndre Jordan added 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Griffin, Paul and Jordan did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. Game 3 is Thursday at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The points scored Monday are a playoff club record for Los Angeles, topping the 123 it scored in a 130-123 defeat by the Phoenix Suns in 2006.
Like Game 1, Los Angeles bolted out of the gate to a double-digit lead. However, unlike the opener, the Clippers never relinquished the lead and coasted from start to finish.
The third-seeded Clippers blitzed the sixth-seeded Warriors for a 67-41 halftime lead. It was a club record for points in a half for Los Angeles. Griffin scored 21 in the first half.
The Clippers, who scored at least 30 points in each quarter, also benefited from 15 Warrior turnovers, which they cashed in for 18 points, before the break. Los Angeles had only seven miscues in the half. Overall, Golden State finished with 26 turnovers to 13 for the Clippers.
Point guard Stephen Curry led Golden State with 24 points, scoring 20 in the second half when the outcome was practically decided. Forwards David Lee and Draymond Green and guard Jordan Crawford each scored 11.
Los Angeles shot 56.6 percent (47-for-83) from the field compared to 47.4 percent (36-for-76) for the Warriors. The Clippers also converted 12-of-25 (48 percent) on 3-pointers to only 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) for the Warriors.
NOTES: Golden State C Jermaine O’Neal, who replaced injured C Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup and finished with 13 points and four rebounds in a strong performance Saturday, was pivotal in the Warriors’ Game 1 win. “He played great,” Clipper coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought he was probably, if not the most important player in Game 1, he was close.” Rivers and O’Neal, who played for Rivers for two seasons in Boston, earned technicals in the second quarter for jawing at each other. … Golden State has won 16 of 20 previous playoff series when it captured Game 1. … Saturday’s victory gave the Warriors a franchise-record 25 road wins. … Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, where Los Angeles has dropped five in a row and failed to win there since Dec. 25, 2011.
