Warriors Battle Adversity, Edge Clips

Carl Landry, having another big game. A day after losing one of their leaders, the Warriors played inspired basketball against one of the premier teams in the Western Conference. Heading into Saturday night’s contest, Golden State (2-1) had something to prove heading into Los Angeles to battle the Clippers (2-1). Just hours after hearing the terrible news that they would be without swingman and team leader Brandon Rush for the remainder of the season, the Warriors played with heart in a balanced offensive attack against Chris Paul’s Los Angeles squad, beating them 114-110. In a tight game until the final buzzer, it came down to the Clippers final possession when the Warriors star point guard Steph Curry stepped up and drew a charge from the Clippers star point guard Chris Paul. While most of the media has referred to this play as “controversial”, there was nothing controversial about it. After a Clipper time out with 21.4 seconds left, Paul drove to the hoop down 112-110 when Curry stepped in and took a clear charge. After a few free throws by Curry, it was enough to hold off the star-studded Clippers team. Chris Paul and first year Clipper Jamal Crawford both had 27 points and Caron Butler dropped 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to fend off the well rounded attack of the Warriors. The Warriors backcourt Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 40 points, countering Paul and Crawford the entire game. However, it was the play of Carl Landry yet again that sparked the bench. Landry, who has been the Warriors best player early on in this season, scored 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He had the help of Jarrett Jack who also had a big game off the bench. Jack finished with 16 points and 7 assists. Warriors guard Jarrett Jack frustrating Clippers forward Blake Griffin. The difference in this game was the rebounding. The Warriors out rebounded the Clippers 48 to 33 in a game where Golden State’s new big man Andrew Bogut didn’t even play. It was a total team effort and for the first time this season the Warriors were a force on the glass. They frustrated Blake Griffin all night, even drawing a technical foul from him in the second half. Carl Landry and the rest of the Warriors defense finally got under his skin, as they held Griffin to only 4-12 shooting on the night. The Warriors proved that they could be a playoff team if they can continue to play inspired basketball for coach Mark Jackson. They could have rolled over after losing Brandon Rush the night before, but instead they played better than they have all season long, against the best team that they have faced so far. “We don’t quit,” coach Jackson said. “We had every reason to quit. We gutted it out and we defended. Everybody played a role.” That’s the kind of inspired basketball that they will need to continue playing if they intend on prevailing in a tough Western Conference. Saturday night was a good start. The Warriors next game is Monday, November 5th @ The Sacramento Kings.  Tip off is at 7:00 PM Pacific time. The post Warriors Battle Adversity, Edge Clips appeared first on Bay Area Sports Nut.