Stephen Curry inspires Golden State Warriors to comeback win over LA Clippers
Stephen Curry scored 35 points to help the Golden State Warriors erase a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit and defeat the LA Clippers 126-121 in Wednesday’s NBA play-in tournament game in Inglewood.
The 38-year-old point guard scored 27 of his points in a dominant second-half performance to keep his team’s postseason hopes alive.
Al Horford also proved crucial during the closing stages, sinking four three-pointers as the visitors surged to a dramatic victory.
Curry completes dramatic turnaround
The hosts appeared to be cruising toward the next round when they established a 98-85 advantage with under 10 minutes remaining.
However, the 10th-place franchise produced a devastating 16-6 run to completely flip the momentum of the contest.
The veteran sharpshooter broke a late tie with his seventh triple of the evening, leaving just 50 seconds on the clock.
Kristaps Porzingis was heavily involved in the comeback effort, contributing 20 points to support the offensive barrage.
Overcoming regular season adversity
Defensively, the victors smothered Kawhi Leonard during the final quarter, holding the experienced forward scoreless until the closing 16 seconds.
This resilient performance continues a turbulent campaign for a squad that limped to a 37-45 regular season record.
Their challenging year was heavily impacted by the loss of Jimmy Butler III to a season-ending injury in January.
Their star guard had also only returned five games ago following a lengthy 27-game absence with a knee issue.
Clippers streak comes to an end
The franchise will now travel to face the Phoenix Suns on Friday, with the winner advancing to play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Defeat means Los Angeles will miss the playoffs for only the third time during an impressive streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons.
Bennedict Mathurin led the scoring for the eliminated side with 23 points, while Darius Garland added 21 points and eight assists.
Despite recovering from a dismal 6-21 start to the year to finish 42-40, late-season defeats ultimately forced them into an unforgiving play-in position.
