The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are having a very entertaining Wednesday night game which has unraveled in the fourth quarter. After a series of what the Clippers felt were no-calls on Mason Plumlee, he lashed out by aggressively striking Brandin Podziemski for a rebound and got hit with a Flagrant 1.
Things are getting HEATED during the Warriors-Clippers game pic.twitter.com/7pPPdr1Ql7
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) February 15, 2024
Coach Tyronn Lue was ejected during the post-foul scuffle, picking up a second technical foul.
Tyronn Lue now gets hit with a second tech for defending Mason Plumlee after a no call and gets ejected.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 15, 2024
pic.twitter.com/fdTA9A0sJg
His previous technical came minutes prior while defending Plumlee after a hard foul by Draymond Green went unpunished
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue got hit with a technical foul because he asked the officials to look at Draymond Green's hard foul on Mason Plumlee (not the first one and they refused to.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 15, 2024
Incredible officiating work. pic.twitter.com/WIk7NNgGgc
Draymond continued instigating the Clippers on the sideline, showing up four fingers for his four championships and staring with wide-open eyes.
Draymond is unhinged pic.twitter.com/mC19Nkl4He
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) February 15, 2024
A night of frustration boiled the Clippers to the point of no return, as Plumlee lashed out after feeling like he was unfairly treated on previous possessions. Draymond Green wasn't actively involved in this scuffle but was amped up given how he was reacting to everything. Jonathan Kuminga was the first to rush to Podziemski's side, giving Plumlee a slight shove as retaliation for the foul.
The Clippers were fired up after losing Lue, overturning the nine-point lead to win the game 130-125 to end the Warriors winning streak at five without Kawhi Leonard.
The Warriors were in one of their best stretches of the season, with the team winning five straight games and climbing over .500 heading into this clash. the Clippers were coming off a loss and didn't have Kawhi Leonard available for the game. Even with Paul George fouling out with under three minutes left, the Clippers came back through hot shooting by Normal Powell and Amir Coffey, along with clutch free throws by Russell Westbrook.
The Warriors looked flat in the fourth quarter, solely relying on Stephen Curry to carry them to a win. He ended the night with 41 points but in vain. Klay Thompson made a huge error with less than 40 seconds on the clock, as he intentionally fouled Westbrook to send him to the line with the Warriors up three. They could have just gotten a stop and used their last timeout to draw up a game-tying three, but Klay's foul gave the Clippers a five-point lead after Westbrook sunk the free throws.
The late-game execution was bad, and the team has fallen to a 26-26 record. With the Lakers, Kings, Mavericks, Pelicans, and Suns all winning their games tonight, the road to the top six has gotten even more complicated for the 10th-seed Warriors.
This was their last game before the All-Star break, as they return next week to play the in-form Los Angeles Lakers, who won their game over the Jazz tonight without LeBron James on the court.
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