First, the Warriors showed their home strength at the beginning.
In this game, the Golden State Warriors faced the visiting Los Angeles Clippers at their home arena at Oracle Arena. Soon after the opening, the Warriors took full advantage of the home-court advantage and played a very good offense. At 7:30 of the first quarter, Warriors star guard Klay Thompson hit a warm-up three-pointer to give his team a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter. After that, the Warriors went on to get hotter, especially guard Draymond Green, who hit two consecutive three-pointers in the final two minutes of the first quarter to score eight points in the quarter. In the final game, the Warriors scored 31 points in the first quarter, while the Clippers only scored 24 points, and the gap between the two teams reached 7 points.
In this first-quarter matchup, Warriors guards "Splash Brothers" Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both played steadily. In a single quarter of the game, Curry contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, while "Big Mouth" Thompson scored 7 points and 2 rebounds, and the two teamed up to lead the team to play offensive. In addition, substitute player Andrew Wiggins was unable to play in this game due to injury, and Abel Moody, who played for the Clippers, started the game and also played well, contributing 4 points in a single quarter. It can be said that the Warriors won the first quarter with the efforts of the whole team.
Comparatively speaking, the Clippers have performed a little less well. The team's two top stars, Paul George and Kawaii Leonard, had a mediocre start to the game, with their combined scores of just eight points in a single quarter. In addition, the Clippers' bench play was also a bit disappointing, and they ended up trailing by seven points at 24-31, temporarily at a disadvantage.
Second, the Warriors continued to extend their lead after halftime.
After a 12-minute timeout at half-time, the game resumed. In this quarter, the Warriors did not relax and continued to play a stable game. "Wave Brothers" Curry and Thompson combined for 13 points, and guard teammate Green also scored five points to help the team take a narrow 27-26 advantage in the first quarter.
It is worth mentioning that in this quarter of the game, Thompson still maintained an efficient hand. He took five shots in the quarter, including three fingers, and scored seven points in a single quarter. On Curry's side, although he only hit 1 finger on 6 shots, he still contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists by relying on high-EQ dribbling and organization. It can be said that the two-way cooperation between the two is an important cornerstone of the Warriors' stable lead in this section.
Overall, thanks to the efforts of the Splash Brothers and the whole team, the Golden State Warriors managed to extend the gap between the two teams to 11 points after halftime. And this 11-point lead has formed a lot of psychological pressure on the Clippers, and it is not easy to play away from home.
3. In the second half, the Clippers chased hard to narrow the difference.
In the game that resumed after halftime, the Los Angeles Clippers were clearly moved by their coach, and the morale of the whole team was high. They played a strong attack in this half, and quickly closed the gap that was already behind.
In this half, Clippers guard James Harden and forward Kawaii Leonard stood out. Harden was extremely active on the tactical end of the quarter, scoring six points and diching out three assistsAnd Leonard's side was even more brave, scoring 12 points alone to lead the team's offense. The two teamed up to score 31 points in the quarter, bringing the score close to just nine points and rekindling hopes of victory.
In contrast, the Warriors' side has seen an offensive slump. The Splash Brothers scored only 13 points in this quarter, and their three-point shots were even more cold in 0. With the two of them feeling poorly, the Warriors' overall offense regressed significantly, and they only scored 25 points in the quarter. It can be said that it was the reversal of the offensive and defensive situation of the two teams that made the game possible in the second half.
Fourth, in the end, the Splash Brothers broke out again, and the Warriors narrowly won.
By the end of the game, the Warriors' six-point advantage was not obvious. To ensure victory, Thompson stepped up again!At the critical moment with 5 minutes remaining, the perennially criticized star who "can only say but not do" played his strength. He scored 10 points in the first quarter of the game, hitting all three three-pointers to help the team open the gap again.
At the same time, another "Splash Brother" Curry also sounded the clarion call for a counterattack. He contributed 8 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in the final quarter of the life-or-death game, and teamed up with Thompson to lead the team to a crucial 13-point lead and secure the victory. It can be said that the attack of the "big two" of the Splash Brothers once again saved the Lord and helped the Warriors lock up the victory at the last moment.
Although in the last minute of the game, the Clippers relied on George and guard Marvin Williams to score five points in a row, and at one point chased the difference to 8 points, so that the game fell back into a stalemate. But in the end, under the steady leadership of the Splash Brothers, the Golden State Warriors still won a thrilling 120-114 victory and successfully repelled a strong opponent at home.