Three takeaways from the LA Clippers’ Game 3 defeat

The LA Clippers never looked their best on Thursday night, blowing their chance to take a series lead and falling to the Warriors 132-105.

On Thursday night, the LA Clippers hosted their first playoff game since April 30, 2017. And unfortunately, both that game and last night’s had the same result: A big loss for the home team.

The LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors both came out with plenty of energy early in the first quarter, but it became clear rather quickly that the Warriors were playing to prove a point. Kevin Durant was terrific in particular, scoring 38 points in just under 30 minutes of action. That was to be expected though — after an interview went viral that showed him talking about his plan for Game 3, most people figured the former MVP would be unstoppable.

Unfortunately for LA, it wasn’t just Durant that went off in Game 3. Stephen Curry had another efficient night, going for 21 points and hitting 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range, and Andre Iguodala was good for 15 points (3-of-4 from deep) in 21 minutes off the bench.

Some fans were hopeful as the Clippers went into the half down 73-52, almost the exact same halftime score of Game 2, but that feeling didn’t last more than a few moments.

Things got especially ugly in the third quarter, when the Warriors brought their lead up to 31 — and then a little bit higher to 36 early in the fourth. LA outscored Golden State by nine from that point on, but there was hardly a thing to play for by then.

That being said, it was great to see some of the younger guys get some run. Jerome Robinson finished the game on the floor with Tyrone Wallace and Sindarius Thornwell, all players that have seen very minimal action in this series. Garbage time or not, any sort of experience is good for them to pick up.

Game 4 will take place on Sunday afternoon, where the Clippers will get a chance to tie the series at 2-2. For more in-depth takeaways from Game 3, continue on to the following slides.