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The Morning After: Clippers drop another to the Warriors despite Austin Rivers’ play

By Ryan Snellings

February 23, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
February 23, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite a great effort from Austin Rivers, the Clippers dropped yet another one to the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena on Thursday night.

The Clippers traveled to Oakland on Thursday night after returning from the All-Star break. Despite Austin Rivers looking like the best guard on the court at times, LA lost a big halftime lead and eventually the game to the Warriors.

We got our hopes up again for nothing. Sadly, this has been the trend for games against the Warriors:

  1. Get hyped up and say, “This is our night!”
  2. Team plays hard to start.
  3. Some player (Austin Rivers this time) lulls us into more false hope.
  4. The Warriors go Super Saiyan
  5. Clippers’ players become disheartened
  6. Loss

The Clippers, who led by 12 at halftime, somehow allowed the Warriors to put up 50 points in the 3rd quarter. Yes, 50 points in a quarter. Let that sink in. After that, the Clippers just looked defeated.

The Clippers, who put up 113 for the game, didn’t look bad offensively, but the Warriors just couldn’t miss. They shot 53.1% from the field, including 13/26 from three point range.

February 23, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee (1) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
February 23, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee (1) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The Seed

Austin Rivers turned into the best point-guard in the league during the 2nd quarter. While filling in for Chris Paul, Austin Rivers has been amazing. This growth is something Clippers’ fans have seen slowly forming over the year, but it was nice to see Austin show off his talent on a national stage.

RELATED STORY: Chris Paul has been medically cleared to return

He ended the game with 19 points, which included going 4 of 9 from three. His biggest highlights included hitting a step back over Kevin Durant then immediately poking the ball away from Stephen Curry and throwing the lob to DeAndre Jordan.

Austin Rivers is the real deal guys. It’s time the rest of the league realizes that although he may have stayed in the NBA because of his dad, he’s definitely proved now that he’s an NBA caliber player.

Draymond Green and Paul Pierce

Draymond Green had an interesting night. He kicked at Blake Griffin during a loose ball, got T’d up for yelling at the ref and screamed at his coach, Steve Kerr. The biggest incident, however, came in the first quarter. The mics for TNT picked up some chatter early in the game from Draymond Green to the Clips’ bench.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/834979645330092032

This apparently bugged at least a few players, including Jamal Crawford who tweeted the following:

Paul Pierce also had a response, in classic old man fashion:

The Clippers return home on Friday to face the San Antonio Spurs.

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