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Clippers hold off Warriors for 5th straight home win

Clippers guard Norman Powell scores on a layup in front of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, left, and Lindy Waters III during the first half on Monday night at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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INGLEWOOD — It certainly wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was ugly and chaotic and messy at the end.

But it was a victory, another tight, down-to-the-wire win against one of the best teams in the Western Conference and the Clippers were relieved to have held off the Golden State Warriors,102-99, on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday at the Intuit Dome.

“We just have to win games ugly. It doesn’t matter how we win, we just have to win games until we get No. 2 back,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, referring to All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has started light shooting.

“It wasn’t that ugly but we got to win, we got to win. So, it doesn’t matter.”

The Clippers will take this one and any more they can squeeze out until Leonard’s troublesome right knee is deemed strong enough for him to play.

The Clippers led by three (75-72) at the end of the third quarter when Lue pulled the team into a huddle and warned them the Warriors were going to make one of their trademark runs in the final quarter.

“They’re a good team. We have to keep our composure, and we have to play basketball the right way,” Lue said. “We need to get to our next actions and don’t make it a dribble-fest.”

Instead, the game turned into a 3-point contest in the final period. The teams combined for seven 3-pointers – two by Steph Curry and two by the Clippers’ Norman Powell – in the final six minutes but it came down to defense.

Andrew Wiggins (22 points) made a 3-pointer to pull the Warriors to within 102-95 with 2:12 remaining. After a Curry layup, Wiggins cut to the basket for another two points that trimmed the lead to 102-99.

But the Warriors couldn’t get a final shot to fall. Curry missed with 12 seconds left and Gary Payton II missed a 26-footer with two seconds left, leaving the Warriors with a second loss to the Clippers this season.

“We had opportunities to score, we turned the ball over a couple of times. They missed shots, we didn’t rebound and get offensive rebounds,” Clippers point guard James Harden said. “They gave us more chances. We’re just happy to come out with a win.”

The stage seemingly was set for a shootout, a showdown, something.

Curry, long-regarded as the top shooter in NBA history, was going up against Harden, the newly minted No. 2 on the career list for 3-point baskets, in an early season test in front of a near-sellout crowd.

But a contest between the game’s two most prolific long-range shooters never materialized as Harden struggled to breathe. He had been sick for two days with chest congestion that he said made it difficult to catch his breath.

But he was able to post 12 points and 16 assists despite not feeling well. He said the team has a mission and he aims to be a part of it all.

“For me, if I’m able to run and still be myself (I’m going to play,” Harden said. “I’ve played through injuries and this was a little sickness, chest tightness so it wasn’t going to stop me.”

Curry finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but the four-time NBA champion couldn’t get a 3-point attempt to fall in the frenetic final seconds.

Powell shook off soreness in his left hamstring and finished with a team-high 23 points, adding to his distinction as the Clippers’ best overall shooter.

Powell has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, including three games with 30 or more. He came into the game averaging 23.3 points and shooting 46.9% from long range.

Curry had been listed as questionable for the game because of bursitis in his left knee but his availability was never in doubt, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr. It took him a little more than a half to get going, but he hit 10 of 21 shots and made six 3-pointers, adding to his 800-plus basket lead on Harden.

A day earlier, Harden conceded Curry’s dominance at the arc.

“I mean, I’m one of the most confident guys that we have in this league. But no, I probably won’t catch Steph,” said Harden, who trails Curry by an insurmountable 811 shots. “And I don’t think anybody will honestly.”

Ivica Zubac had 17 rebounds – 10 in the first half – to go along with eight points. It’s the fifth time this season he’s recorded 10+ rebounds in a single half. Zubac did it five times all last season.

The Clippers led, 56-45, at the end of the first half, but watched as their advantage disappeared in a barrage of 3-pointers, forcing them to dig deep again. They did finish 16 for 18 from the free-throw line, while the Warriors went 9 for 19.

Lue said this game was one more example of how much the Clippers’ defense has improved under assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy.

“They (Warriors) know how to play the game, so for us to hold this team to 99 points defensively says a lot about what we are doing. We’re scrapping, we’re competing,” he said.

“We can play with the good teams every night. We just have to figure out how we want to close games. That’s the biggest thing. I never fault our effort, intensity, playing hard defensively.”