Warriors almost seem like old selves in win

OAKLAND - The Warriors aren’t quite back to being themselves, but they’re getting close.

On Thursday, they played the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that beat them 125-106 in early January. A team that might have given the Warriors real problems just last week before the All-Star break.

But, not Thursday night. The Warriors handled the Clippers. Beat them 134 to 127. Never trailed after the first quarter. Shot 62.2 percent from the field, and made 54.2 percent of their 3-pointers.

“It was nice to build a lead and play from ahead the entire game,” Stephen Curry said.

Curry made 14 of 19 shots, including eight of 11 from 3. He finished with 44 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Kevin Durant finished with 21 points and eight assists.

But with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Warriors were on the verge of collapse. They led by only four points. The Clippers had battled back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit.

Then, with 1:47 left in the game, Curry pulled up from 29 feet. Swish. Thirteen seconds later, he pulled up from 26 feet. Swish.

Like that, the game was over.

“We’re a championship team,” said Draymond Green, who had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. “We’re not about to sit here and act like we’re this battered team that had a horrible season and we’re looking for any glimmer of hope.

“I understand we haven’t been as great as most people expect. But, we’re still a damn good basketball. We don’t need no, ‘It’s a step in the right direction.’ You may get that out of someone else, but I don’t roll like that.”

The Clippers were missing their starting shooting guard - Avery Bradley. He sat out with a sports hernia. Milos Teodosic started in Bradley’s place and scored 14 points in 27 minutes.

The Clippers had won seven of their previous nine games coming into Thursday night. And they had won five of seven since trading five-time All-Star power forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons for Bradley, forward Tobias Harris, backup center Boban Marjanovic and two draft picks.

“(The Clippers have) changed their identity,” Kerr said before the game. “We actually saw this over the years occasionally when Griffin was injured. We would see Chris Paul and DeAndre (Jordan) in the high screen with shooters around them. And they always won. They always played pretty well.

“A lot of that was Chris, his brilliance. But, it’s hard to guard DeAndre’s dives to the rim with shooting on the perimeter, and they’ve built a roster now that has a lot of shooting. It’s a different look and they’re playing really well.”

To defend Jordan’s dives to the rim, Kerr started JaVale McGee at center, not Zaza Pachulia. McGee had started only four games this season before Thursday’s game. He will start again Saturday when the Warriors face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“You see how much the league has changed,” Kerr said. “Almost everybody is playing like the Clippers are - one guy diving and four shooters. So, you’ve got to have versatility defensively, guys who can guard multiple spots, protect the rim, get out and challenge 3-point shooters and everything in between.”

McGee is more equipped to do those things than Pachulia, who’s a traditional center.

And McGee brings energy to the team. Kerr said the starting lineup needs energy.

“The numbers are astounding, not just over the last two months but over the entire season. The most glaring stat is the first five minutes of games last season compared to this season. Exact same starting five. And it’s just alarmingly different in terms of defense.

“I’ll tell you the numbers. Last season, our defensive rating for the first five minutes was 100 (very good). This season, it’s 114 (not good). Our offensive numbers are better than they’ve ever been, and that’s even with our turnovers.

“If we get off to a better start, that will change things. It’s tough to play from behind all the time. The flip side of that is, for our opponents, it will be tough for them to catch us. We’re tough to handle when we play a good, solid first quarter.”

When Clippers coach Doc Rivers heard about Kerr’s scathing pregame assessment of the Warriors’ poor effort, Rivers made a humble request. “I would like to have them not try hard enough tonight. Can you ask Steve if they can do that for me? I mean, REALLY not try. That would be awesome.”

Apparently, no one relayed that message to Kerr.

The Warriors played extremely hard to start the game. During the first five minutes and 18 seconds, they shot 70 percent from the floor, held the Clippers to just 41.7 percent shooting and led 19-11.

During that stretch, Klay Thompson scored eight points and made two 3-pointers. With his second 3-pointer, Thompson reached the 10,000-point mark, and passed Joe Barry Carroll for 10th all-time on the franchise’s scoring list.

“He’s a machine,” Kerr said.

Thompson made his first seven shots, and finished the game with 19 points.

On the final play of the first quarter, Curry stole the spotlight. He caught the ball near his own 3-point line with 3.9 seconds left, pushed the ball past half court with two quick dribbles, tapped the ball behind his back, dribbled once with his right hand and launched a shot from 37 feet away. Swish.

The Warriors led 34-23 after the first quarter.

At halftime, they led 70-58. They shot 69.4 percent in the first half, and made seven-of-10 3-pointers.

Early in the third quarter, the Warriors took an 18-point lead. But, the Clippers wouldn’t go away. They outscored the Warriors 34 to 32 in the third quarter, and 26 to 20 during the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter.

Then, Curry took over. He scored 29 points in the second half.

“That was mostly me,” Kerr joked after the game, “and a little bit Steph.” Sure, it was.