Dubs clinch No. 1 seed in West with 131-104 win over Clippers at Oracle Arena’s regular season finale.
On a night filled with excitement and fun in honor of the Warriors’ 47 seasons at Oracle Area, the Dubs got to celebrate one additional accomplishment: clinching the top seed in the Western Conference. The team played a full 48-minutes of high-energy basketball on both sides of the court for a 131-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 27 points, and Draymond Green filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, five steals, and three blocks. DeMarcus Cousins finished with a near double-double himself with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Durant had an efficient 16 points on 6-of-7 from the field.
Hitting the hardwood in throwback “We Believe” jerseys, the Warriors got off to a hot start right from tipoff and went a perfect 6-for-6, courtesy of Curry, Durant, and Klay Thompson. As energized as the Dubs were from feeding off the Oracle Arena crowd, the Clippers’ Landry Shamet came out firing with 12 points in 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. It was looking to be a tightly contested ballgame after the first quarter ended 32-28.
Los Angeles continued to hang with the Warriors through the first minutes of the second quarter as well; neither team was able to go further than four points ahead of the other. It was a true back-and-forth between the California foes.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Clippers had worked their way into a 45-41 lead over the Dubs and had the momentum on their side. Multiple defensive stops courtesy of Green and Andrew Bogut immediately ignited the Warriors. The result from the Dubs’ new-found energy: they finished the quarter by outscoring Los Angeles 21-10 and took a 62-55 lead into the half.
Los Angeles came back out in the third quarter ready to play, trading buckets once again with the Dubs for the first minutes of the frame. However, it was all Warriors for the final seven minutes; in a repeat of their second quarter performance, the Dubs shut-down the Clippers for the remainder of the quarter with a 27-5 run.
The ends of those two quarters would seal deal the deal for the Warriors, granting them both the win and the No. 1 seed in the West. By the end of the game, all of the Warriors had scored. The Dubs’ bench shot an efficient 65.7 percent (23-for-35) including 14 points from Kevon Looney and 10 points by Quinn Cook.
After the final buzzer, head coach Steve Kerr took to the mic to address the fans at Oracle Arena. He praised Dub Nation for their continued support of the team, but then had a special presentation for the crowd. Kerr revealed one of the first new additions to be installed at Chase Center: a banner commemorating the team’s 47 seasons in Oakland.
More Notable Moments:
- Golden State improved to 56-24 (.700) overall and 30-11 (.732) at home… The Warriors won their season series versus the Clippers 3-1… The Warriors have 16 wins in their last 18 regular season games versus the L.A. Clippers.
- The Warriors have won six of their last seven home games and nine of the last 11 games overall.
- Tonight marked the Warriors’ 1,936th and final regular season game at Oracle Arena… They finish with a regular season record of 1,166-770 (.602)… Stephen Curry led all scorers with 8,075 regular season points tallied at Oracle Arena (second: Chris Mullin – 7,580 points).
- Tonight marked Golden State’s 15th win by 20-or-more points this season.
- The Warriors posted a season-high 16 steals (previous: 14, twice).
- Golden State recorded its 16th quarter of 40-or-more points this season (42 points – third quarter).
- With 37 assists tonight, the Warriors improved to 33-4 when dishing out 30-plus assists in a game.
- Golden State now owns a record of 32-1 when shooting 50 percent-or-better from the field (54.6 tonight)… Over their last eight games, the Warriors are shooting 53.2 percent from the field (382-of-718).
- The Warriors recorded 54 points off the bench and are now 5-0 when scoring 50-plus off the bench.
- The Warriors improved to 13-2 when scoring 130-plus points this season… Dating back to the 2014-15 season, Golden State is 40-2 when posting 130-or-more points.
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