Stephen Curry and the Warriors (37-45) have pulled off a phenomenal upset and defeated the Clippers (42-40) after beating them 126-121 in a nail-biting elimination game in Los Angeles tonight.
During the postgame press conference, the Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, spoke to the media and slammed Curry’s critics, who at one point suggested he should be shut down for the season.
“This is why Steph came back. Everyone out there who thought Steph should take the rest of the year off,” said Kerr as he banged the table. “This is what he does. If he can compete, he competes. And it was just incredible to watch.”
Kerr went on to express his pride in the team and explained how happy he was to see them performing at a championship caliber level, even if it was just for one night.
“Just all I’m thinking about is how proud I am of the guys to really show what they’re made of and the fact that we’re still alive. We’ve got to go to Phoenix now and try to get another one, and get ourselves in the playoffs.”
“But more than anything, I’m just so proud of the guys. We must have been down double figures five, six separate times, and we came back every single time we made a run. It was such an incredible display of guts, competitiveness, and connection.”
“Obviously, Steph and Dray kind of took over down the stretch. Dray’s defense, he’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s just insane what he does out there. The job he did on Kawhi. I thought our coaches did a really good job with the game plan to blitz Kawhi and try to put a crowd around him.”
“And so the preparation was good, and the players really followed through, and for one night, you know, we’re us. We’re champions again. And I know that that may sound crazy to everybody out there. It’s a play-in game. I don’t care. Just absolutely beautiful to watch,” concluded Kerr.
Stephen Curry led all scorers for the Warriors with 35 points, four assists, one rebound, and one steal while shooting 12-23 from the field (52.2 FG%) and 7-12 from beyond the arc (58.3 3P%).
The Clippers controlled a majority of the first half. Every time the Warriors tried to make a run back into the game, the Clippers responded with their own run.
Curry got going in the third quarter after struggling with just eight points in the first half. He scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half (16 in the third quarter alone). Having an unwavering faith in Stephen Curry clearly gave Steve Kerr something to subtly flex about at the conference today.
The Clippers eventually ended up taking a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter before an offensive explosion from the Warriors’ veterans was combined with Draymond Green’s exceptional defense to come up with two crucial steals in the clutch, sealing the win for Golden State.
After losing their regular season finale to the Clippers by five points, it seems like they instantly got their redemption with a five-point win in the play-in tournament.
The Warriors are now headed to Phoenix to face the Suns in another elimination game that could see them potentially get the eighth seed and face the Thunder in the Playoffs. Meanwhile, this is an unfortunate end to the Clippers’ season after surging back from an ugly start and still managing a winning record in the regular season.
