Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is fouled by Warriors power forward Draymond Green on a drive in the first quarter Saturady night at Staples Center. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / )
Golden State 64, Clippers 56 (halftime)
Golden State continued its sublime outside shooting and maintained a solid lead over the Clippers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
The Warriors made nine of 13 from three-point range (69.2%) and didn't seem bothered to be seven-point underdogs and playing on the road.
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Typical of the Warriors' night so far: Stephen Curry drilled a three-pointer and was fouled by Matt Barnes with 10.8 seconds left in the second quarter. Curry held out four fingers and pounded his chest.
Curry and Draymond Green each have 13 points for the Warriors.
Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford each have 13 points for the Clippers, who have made only three of 11 (27.3%) from three-point range.
Golden State 32, Clippers 22 (first quarter)
The Clippers didn't exactly jump out to a great start in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
As if Golden State cared.
The Warriors took all the early momentum despite a flood of turnovers, riding a surprising 10 points from Draymond Green to a quick lead at Staples Center.
The Clippers couldn't stop the Warriors, who shot a ridiculous 72.2% in the quarter. Green made all four of his shots.
The Clippers were off to a poor start from the free-throw line, making two of five, and missed all five of their three-point attempts.
The Warriors committed seven turnovers in the first quarter after turning the ball over only eight times total in their 100-99 Game 6 victory Thursday.
Blake Griffin had seven points on subpar three-for-seven shooting for the Clippers. He had only one rebound in the first 12 minutes.
Pregame
Coach Mark Jackson keeps pointing fingers. Not at his Golden State guys. At the allegedly nervous Clippers.
The Warriors' coach keeps saying all the pressure is on the Clippers, which is true for the usual reasons. They had the better regular-season record, they were the higher-seeded team in the first-round matchup (three vs. six) and they were the home team Saturday in Game 7.
Not that Clippers Coach Doc Rivers wanted to hear about any stress stacking up.
'Whatever. [Jackson's] been saying that for a while,' Rivers said before tip-off at Staples Center. 'I think what he's trying to say is, 'Please, my team, you've got to relax. It's all on them.' '
There are two keys to Saturday's game. Chris Paul's left thumb. And Chris Paul's right hamstring.
'He just can't get away from anybody offensively,' Rivers said, more concerned about the strained hamstring than the sore thumb. 'When you watch him in film, he really struggles where he's great on the [isolations], especially on the elbows, he just can't get away from anybody.'
The Clippers have been trying to use more screens to free up Paul with limited success. Paul's defense was not affected as much, Rivers said.
Paul's numbers are down through six playoff games compared to the regular season. His scoring average has slid from 19.1 points in the regular season to 16.7 in the playoffs and his assists are down from 10.7 to 8.2 a game in the playoffs . His shooting accuracy from the field has dropped from 46.7% to 40.2%.
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Posted by Unknown on Saturday, May 3, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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