13 Facts About the Warriors Blowing a 31-Point Lead Against the Clippers You Should Never Forget
The Clippers did the impossible Monday night.
After trailing by 31 points with fewer than 20 minutes remaining in their contest against the Warriors, Los Angeles fought back and stole the win to even their first-round playoff series at 1–1.
And because it's the Warriors and we should always stick with the 3–1 theme—especially when they blow a game at Oracle—we need to examine the 13 most important parts of the stunning victory.
13. The Clippers two leading scorers came off the bench
Lou Williams led all players with 36 points and 11 assists and Montrezl Harrell chipped in 25 points and 10 rebounds as the NBA's best bench lived up to its reputation. Danilo Gallinari led the starters with a playoff-career-high of 24.
12. Los Angeles closed the game on a 72-37 run
After going down 94-63, the Clippers took complete control of the game and nearly doubled up the Warriors over the final 19:31.
11. DeMarcus Cousins was injured during the loss
There was one clear downside to this game no matter who you root for, and it's that DeMarcus Cousins suffered a likely-season-ending quad injury. Who knows what difference Cousins would have made with more than four minutes on the court. Maybe he changes the game, maybe not. But it feels like a punch to the gut when you see a guy get injured in his second career playoff game after an Achilles injury halted his chances of playing in the postseason last year for the sixth-seeded Pelicans.
10. Kevin Durant had more turnovers than field goals
Not only did KD have nine turnovers to his eight field goal attempts (he went 5-for-8 and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line), he also fouled out of the game with the Warriors leading 128–126 with 1:21 left on the clock.
You know who wasn’t a fan of Durant’s performance? Draymond Green’s mom, Mary Babers-Green, who retweeted a bunch of Durant critics to her 30,000 followers.
9. Klay Thompson was minus-15
Thompson had the worst plus-minus in the game and finished with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
8. Two rookies made the game-winning play
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Landry Shamet for the win. This is why Doc Rivers has them in the starting lineup.
7. Stephen Curry missed a potential game-winner
If this shot goes, we never talk about this game after this season. And it was taken by the greatest shooter ever, who was 5-for-10 from three before this attempt.
6. The Clippers scored more in the second half than the Celtics or Pacers scored in Game 1 of their series on Sunday
The 85-point second half was more offense than either Boston or Indiana provided in their 84-74 series opener that the Celtics won.
5. The Warriors had a 99.9% win probability at one point
Screenshot from ESPN.com
There was literally a one-in-a-thousand chance the Clippers pulled this off.
4. Patrick Beverley celebrated the win with a workout
Gotta keep grinding and putting in work if you're going to steal the series.
3. Lou Williams celebrated the win with nachos
What else would he get to eat after such a rigorous sporting event?
2. Basically everybody was asleep when it happened
Just about everybody on the East Coast fell asleep at some point while the game was a blowout and had to wake up to the shock of know they not only missed a Warriors loss but one that involved an epic collapse at that.
1. It was the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history
Besides all the 3-1 jokes Steph subjected himself to when he tweeted this Sunday, this tweet will now also be linked with another great comeback he wasn't trying to discuss.
