Golden State Warriors Site - Western Conference Semifinals

WARRIORS SWEEP CLIPPERS TO ADVANCE TO SIXTH-STRAIGHT WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Golden State defeats the Clippers in Game 4 to complete sweep of L.A.

GAME 3

WARRIORS HANG ON TO TAKE 3-0 SERIES LEAD

Late baskets preserve Warriors win; build 3-0 lead over Clippers

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Warriors turned to Stephen Curry for much-needed baskets. But after watching a 10-point lead dwindle to just two, they turned to another cornerstone of the Warrior dynasty: Draymond Green. Staring at a three-point edge with 0.9 seconds left on a Clippers inbound pass, Green locked down Kawhi Leonard, preventing the Clippers from getting off a potential game-tying three before the final buzzer. The win gave the Warriors a commanding 3-0 series lead over their Pacific Division rival in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Warriors had turned to dominant first quarters in Games 1 and 2 to build leads they wouldn’t relinquish. Game 3 would be a different story. While the Warriors came out firing, hitting half of their three-point attempts, they still faced a two-point deficit after the first 12 minutes. Brown would lead the Warriors back in the second, scoring 12 points and giving the Warriors a one-point halftime lead.

The second half would be a half of runs, as the Clippers ran out early on a 8-2 run to take a five point lead, only for the Warriors to return with a 14-5 run to go up by seven.

In the fourth quarter, Chef Curry went to work, scoring 16 points in five minutes, including a 30-foot three that banked in, propelling the Warriors to a 10-point lead with 3:29 to play. But the Clippers refused to give up, knowing that a 3-0 deficit could very well spell the end of their season.

Enter Kawhi Leonard. Leonard scored five quick points, then set up Lou Williams for a three, before nailing a midrange jumper to turn the 10-point lead into just two. Though Green’s free throw-line jumper would give the Warriors enough of an edge to win, that didn’t spell the end of the dramatics.

Following Green’s jumper, Leonard slammed home an alley-oop feed with five seconds to play, cutting the lead back to two. Forced to foul, the Clippers sent Curry to the free throw line with 0.9 seconds to play. In what would normally be an icing of the game, Curry hit just one of two free throws, setting up Green’s lockdown defense to clinch the game.

GAME 4

WARRIORS DEFEAT CLIPPERS; SWEEP SERIES

Hot shooting leads Warriors back to Western Conference Finals

Same song, different chorus.

Much like they had done in games one and two, the Golden State Warriors dominated the second half of the first quarter, finishing on a 17-7 run and building a lead that the Clippers could not overcome en route to a 100-100 victory and securing a sweep of their Western Conference Semifinals series.

Jaylen Brown led the Warriors in scoring, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while the Warriors utilized a diverse offensive attack that saw three players score at least 20 points. Klay Thompson scored 21 points while Glenn Robinson III had 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench on 8-for-9 shooting.

Stephen Curry (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) and Draymond Green (12 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists) each recorded triple-doubles, the second time the duo has each had a triple-double in a playoff game (Game 4, 2019 Western Conference Finals). They are the only teammates to accomplish this feat. Green’s 15 assists is tied with Curry for second most in Warriors’ playoff history.

A back and forth first six minutes seemed to indicate that the Warriors and Clippers would be locked in another tight game, much like Game 3 when the Clippers remained close in the first quarter or were mere milliseconds away from getting off a game-tying three-point field goal attempt. But when the clock hit the midway point and Golden State holding a one-point lead, the Warriors offense and defense sprang into gear.

Curry, like he has done throughout his MVP campaign, jumpstarted the offense with a layup followed by a Damion Lee three that that turned the one-point lead into nine headed to the second. The second quarter was merely a continuation of the first, which saw the Warriors score four points in the span of two seconds after a defensive three-second call on Ivica Zubac led to a Ky Bowman free throw. On the ensuing inbound pass, Bowman lost his defender and drained a wide open three to make the lead 13.

Golden State didn’t allow the Clippers to get within 10 points the rest of the way, building up a 19-point lead in the second and answering every Clipper run with a run of their own. The closest the Warriors would allow the Clippers would be within 11 late in the third, but an Eric Paschall jumper with just three seconds remaining returned the lead to 13 before Robinson III scored three of his nine fourth quarter points to begin the final 12 minutes and preserve the win.

The Warriors will await the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs series, with the Lakers holding a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5 in Los Angeles.

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