Last Night This Morning: Clippers' collapse helps Warriors to 13-0
There were three games on the NBA hardwood Thursday. Here's what you need to know:
Game of the Night
The Golden State Warriors' 124-117 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night made them the fifth team in NBA history to start a season 13-0. But win No. 13 was a major departure from what we've seen from Golden State this season.
The Clippers came out like gangbusters, racing to a 41-25 first-quarter lead on the back of Chris Paul, who shot 7-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the opening frame to amass 18 points. Combine that with his four assists and Paul accounted for 27 first-quarter points to the Warriors' 25.
Chris Paul red hot! 7-7 from the floor with 18 points in the first quarter! pic.twitter.com/gV06LfmAYF
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) November 20, 2015
The Clippers' lead stretched to as many as 23 points in the second quarter, but that's when the Warriors started chipping away. Los Angeles led 55-32 midway through the second frame, and from then on Golden State outscored the home side 92-62 to put together one of the great come-from-behind victories in recent memory.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 40 points, and the Warriors closed the game on a 9-of-10 run from three.
Performance of the Night
DeMarcus Cousins didn't play Thursday night, and Rudy Gay left the game with a shoulder strain, so Rajon Rondo took the reins of the Sacramento Kings on a night when the team scored a combined 225 points with the Miami Heat. Not surprisingly, Rondo continued his abuse of NBA statisticians.
He entered the night with triple-doubles in four of six games, and while he didn't quite get to five of seven, he again stuffed the stat sheet like only he can.
Rondo finished the night with 14 points, 18 assists, and nine rebounds. The 18 assists match a franchise record and give Rondo his third game with 15 or more assists this season - the rest of the league has combined for two.
Poster of the Night
Let's be real, people. When Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to dunk, all you can really do is stand and watch.
Quote of the Night
Kevin McHale's long anticipated return to the Boston Celtics could become a reality - just not right now.
"We've got a spot for him," Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. "I know we could figure something out for him in some capacity, but I think he's just in a wait and see mode."
Tweet of the Night
The cool cats taking the floor for #CavsBucks.
#CavsHWC pic.twitter.com/8YZvMuOdmV
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 20, 2015
Notes
DeMarcus Cousins didn't play Thursday as he served a one-game suspension for a forearm to the head of Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford the night before. ... The Kings are 0-5 this season and 6-33 over the past three seasons when Cousins doesn't play. ... Mo Williams missed the Cavaliers' game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a sore leg. ... Timofey Mozgov left in the first half with a shoulder strain and didn't return. ... LeBron James shot 9-of-13 from the field - his third-best shooting performance since returning to Cleveland. ... Chris Paul's 35 points were the most scored against the Warriors this season.