Clippers stun Warriors as Paul George hits game-winning 3-pointer in final seconds

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors led the LA Clippers 70-48 just 15 seconds into the second half Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Clippers backup point guard Russell Westbrook rebounded a Stephen Curry miss with 15.1 seconds left to play and got it over to Paul George with the Clippers trailing 112-110. The Clippers had a timeout, and coach Tyronn Lue was considering using it if George took one more dribble.

But George sized up Klay Thompson on the right wing with five dribbles, stepped back to create space, and nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left to give the Clippers their first lead of the game. A Draymond Green missed corner 3 at the buzzer after Curry couldn’t beat Kawhi Leonard in isolation secured a 113-112 comeback win for the Clippers, moving their record to 9-10 and sending the Warriors to 9-11.

“Russ got the stop, kicked it over to me, and we wanted to go without a timeout,” George said Saturday after finishing with a game-high 25 points. “Catch the defense scrambling instead of calling a timeout and they draw up a defensive plan for a last shot.

“I felt confident with the ball in my hand, so it was just getting to my spot. It’s only one of two options. Either I can make it or I can miss it. Just how you got to look at it. No fear in being in that moment.”

For the Clippers, it was a clutch win in a season that has been unkind to them in that regard. When the Clippers lost to Golden State on Thursday night, the team’s fifth game in seven days, it was the eighth time in ten instances that the Clippers lost a game that was within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime. The Clippers responded to that loss, while the Warriors blew a lead of at least 22 points to lose by a single point for the second time in five days; the Warriors lost in Sacramento 124-123 after leading by 24 points in the first half.

The Warriors blew a 24-point lead in Sacramento Tuesday
The Warriors blew a 22-point lead in LAC Saturday
Clippers won in Sacramento, exacted revenge from Thursday night.
They win the LAC-NoCal invitational
— Law Murray ✂️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) December 2, 2023

The Warriors led 67-48 at halftime after Green made four first-quarter 3s and Curry assisted or scored on every point of a 10-0 run in the last two minutes of the first half. While the Warriors made 12-of-22 3s in the first half, the Clippers made only 5-of-20 3s, missed six of seven midrange field goals, and attempted on three free throws in the first two quarters.

But after Warriors small forward Moses Moody made a 3 on the first possession of the second half to give the Warriors a 22-point lead, the Clippers outscored the Warriors 65-42 over the remainder of the game. George, Leonard, and James Harden combined for more second-half points (47) than the Warriors scored as a team (45).

“Just being resilient,” Lue said about the comeback win. “We knew we didn’t play well, especially in that first half, and had a lot of defensive breakdowns and a lot of mistakes. But when you play the Warriors, you’re going to have a lot of breakdowns if you’re not locked in. With Steph and Klay coming off those screens, your first instinct is to switch out. They get you on a slip for layups and dunks.”

“And so just the game plan mistakes we had were, it was just too much. It was too many,” Lue continued. “And then I thought offensively we got some good shots that we didn’t make. We got some open looks that we didn’t make, but just staying with it. I think getting past all the mistakes, this was a gutsy win for us and we needed to win like this just to keep fighting, keep scrapping, keep competing, and winning a big game like this.”

The comeback effort was started by Harden, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter while adding four of his nine assists. Harden, who made the game-winning four-point play 15 days ago against the Houston Rockets to snap what was a six-game losing streak, also made his first fourth-quarter two-point field goal of the season on a driving layup with 57.5 seconds to go. Harden had only one turnover for the second straight game, and the Clippers outscored the Warriors 56-38 in the paint.

“Get to the rim, get to the paint,” Harden said after the game. “When I get to the paint, generally really good things happen. I’ve got to do more of it consistently.”

James Harden on finally making a 4th quarter paint bucket — in a game Clippers won by a single point
— Law Murray ✂️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) December 3, 2023

Even in the comeback effort, the Clippers’ stars were shaky. Leonard threw a pass over everyone’s head out of bounds with 4:38 left to play, and Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski made a 3 to give the Warriors a 105-99 lead on the ensuing possession. Leonard had another turnover with 1:23 left, getting a pass stolen by Moody, which led to a clear path foul on George. It was George’s fifth foul, and Moody’s free throws gave the Warriors a 111-106 lead with 1:22 left to play.

But Leonard made shots in the comeback effort, making all four of his baskets in the fourth quarter, including three in the last five minutes. Leonard had missed 18 of 23 of his clutch time shots this season. His final basket, cutting and receiving a pass from George, cut the Warriors lead to 112-110 with 35.5 seconds to play. That set up the Clippers to defend with a chance to win.

“We wanted to make sure we got the ball into Steph’s hands,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “They are so good at switching with all that size. We wanted to make sure we got it into Steph’s hands and he made the right play. You know, he got it into the paint, and they brought the double. Draymond got a good look. He made four 3s on the night. So, you live with that.”

Here’s Steve Kerr on the blown lead and loss to the Clippers. A more positive spin to it than the Sacramento meltdown because he felt they generally played well and Clippers took it.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 2, 2023

“The last play, just trying to do the best I can,” Leonard said of guarding Curry with the game on the line. “He can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor, off one leg, you know. Out of cadence. So, you know, just try to stay in front of him. My teammates did a good job, I think Russ was right there, stepped up. Kind of made him think about it. And he passed it to the corner.”

The Clippers have three days off before hosting the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, and will have two more days off after a road game against the Utah Jazz on Friday. The Clippers haven’t been over .500 since Harden’s first game ended in a loss last month. Winning a matinee game against a division opponent gives the Clippers a 6-3 record in their last nine games.

“Great win, regardless of the circumstances,” George said. “To this point, every win is appreciated. Just happy to have stuck it out.”