Unlike the earlier game, the Clippers and Warriors could not gift us with a second massively entertaining basketball feast. The Clippers opened up the game by throttling Golden State in the first half, managing a 20-plus point lead consistently in the second quarter, and they didn't let up, finishing with a vicious victory of 138-98.
Clippers unleash scoring deluge, 138-98, tying series against Warriors
Blake Griffin scored his career high in playoff points with 35 as the Clippers rolled a seemingly dispassionate Golden State team.
Stephen Dunn
The Warriors did little adequately. Klay Thompson picked up three fouls in the first quarter. Stephen Curry didn't score until late in the second quarter. They had no defensive answer for, well, anyone. Blake Griffin especially torched them to the tune of 21 first-half points with the usual acrobatic footwork and athletics and even some jump shots. He finished with 35.
You could say the Clippers relented a bit in the third quarter, if only because they lost their focus for a few minutes. They turned the ball over almost like they were trying to. Then Doc Rivers took a timeout and the beatdown resumed.
Curry got mad, scoring 20 points in the quarter alone, and the Clippers still extended their lead to 32 points at the end of it. Curry led Golden State with 24 points and eight assists.
And so the game ended at 105-73. Not really. It might as well have, but the silly formality that is the NBA rulebook says you can't force games to end early just because they're really brutal. So the benches emptied. Marreese Speights and Glen Davis got mad at each other. The Clippers still did not let up, winning by 40 points.
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