×

Durant, Warriors close out Clippers in six games

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant is setting the tone for the Golden State Warriors. Get him the ball and watch him work.

Durant scored 38 of his playoff career-high 50 points in the first half, Draymond Green had a triple-double, and Golden State dominated in closing out the Los Angeles Clippers 129-110 Friday to win their first-round series 4-2.

“I scored 50 points but I missed some good shots,” Durant said. “I thought I could have made a few more.”

The Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals and will face the Houston Rockets beginning Sunday in a rematch of last year’s conference finals. That’s when Houston let a 3-2 lead slip away and the Warriors went on to win their second straight NBA championship.

“They’re similar to the Clippers,” Golden State’s Andrew Bogut said. “They run the pick-and-roll and we’ll need to be disciplined to beat them.”

Golden State found itself in the unfamiliar position of trying to win a third road game in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Durant made his mark early with 38 points that tied for the second-most points in a half in a playoff game.

He was 12-of-17 from the floor, made all 10 of his free throws and sank four 3-pointers in leading the Warriors to a 72-53 advantage.

“That was one of the great performances I’ve ever seen in my life,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s the ultimate weapon because there’s no defense for Kevin.”

Durant had a vicious block of Danilo Gallinari in the fourth that left both of them on the floor. On the Warriors’ next possession, Durant converted a three-point play.

The Clippers fought off elimination with a 129-121 win on the Warriors’ home floor in Game 5, but aside from a game-opening burst and another to start the second half they couldn’t make a stand in front of their crowd.

Still, they bowed out knowing they had exceeded others’ low expectations of their playoff chances.

“We took the back-to-back champions to six games,” the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley said. “We hold our heads high.”

Durant’s 45 points on Wednesday were his previous career playoff high.

Stephen Curry added 24 points and Green had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth career playoff triple-double, despite five fouls. Klay Thompson was limited to nine points with three fouls. Durant got his fourth foul in the fourth.

Gallinari led the Clippers with 29 points and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22.

Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, the NBA’s highest-scoring bench combo, were never a factor. Williams shot 3-of-21 for eight points and Harrell was 4-of-7 for 10 points and five fouls. The two reserves scored a combined 57 points on 23-for-33 shooting in Game 5.

Williams folded up the stat sheet and tossed it under the table after the game.

“I struggled at home this series and played well on the road,” he said. “Tonight was especially tough because it was a deciding game.”

GOLDEN STATE (129)

Livingston 1-5 0-0 2, Durant 15-26 14-15 50, D.Green 8-14 0-1 16, Curry 8-14 6-6 24, Thompson 3-10 2-3 9, McKinnie 1-2 1-2 3, Jerebko 0-1 0-0 0, Bell 1-2 0-0 2, Looney 1-1 0-0 2, Bogut 1-1 2-2 4, Cook 1-2 0-0 2, Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Iguodala 7-11 0-2 15. Totals 47-89 25-31 129.

L.A. CLIPPERS (110)

Beverley 4-6 2-3 11, Gallinari 11-24 4-6 29, J.Green 2-7 2-2 7, Gilgeous-Alexander 8-14 4-6 22, Shamet 3-8 3-3 10, Harrell 4-7 2-2 10, Zubac 0-2 0-0 0, Robinson 2-5 2-2 8, Temple 0-1 2-2 2, Williams 3-21 2-2 8, Thornwell 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 38-96 23-28 110.

Golden State 35 37 30 27 — 129

L.A. Clippers 31 22 25 32 — 110

3-Point Goals–Golden State 10-30 (Durant 6-14, Curry 2-5, Iguodala 1-3, Thompson 1-4, McKinnie 0-1, Jerebko 0-1, D.Green 0-2), L.A. Clippers 11-32 (Gallinari 3-7, Gilgeous-Alexander 2-4, Robinson 2-5, Thornwell 1-1, Beverley 1-2, J.Green 1-4, Shamet 1-5, Temple 0-1, Williams 0-3). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Golden State 46 (D.Green 14), L.A. Clippers 49 (Beverley 14). Assists–Golden State 32 (D.Green 10), L.A. Clippers 22 (Beverley, Williams 7). Total Fouls–Golden State 24, L.A. Clippers 26. Technicals–D.Green, Williams. A–19,068 (18,997).

_______________

NBA PLAYOFFS

All times HST

FIRST ROUND

Friday’s Result

Golden State 129, L.A. Clippers 110, Golden State wins series 4-2

Today’s Game

San Antonio at Denver, 4 p.m. (TNT), series tied 3-3

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Today’s Game

Philadelphia at Toronto, 1:30 p.m. (TNT)

Sunday’s Games

Boston at Milwaukee, 7 a.m. (ABC)

Houston at Golden State, 9:30 a.m. (ABC)

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?
     
Support Local Journalism on Maui

Only $99/year

Subscribe Today