Paul George hit the game-winning three-pointer as the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 22-point third-quarter deficit to stun the Golden State Warriors 113-112 on Saturday.
George finished with a game-high 25 points. Eleven of them came in the fourth quarter, when he finally put the Clippers ahead, for the first time in the game, with 9.9 seconds left, connecting from beyond the arc on a Klay Thompson helpless.
“I felt good as soon as I released it,” said George, who added six rebounds and six assists. “I had a good look at the basket, thank God it went in.”
The Warriors had one last chance, but Draymond Green missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.
The game was the first of an NBA doubleheader at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where the Lakers then hosted the Houston Rockets.
George said the comeback was especially significant against the Warriors’ potentially potent offense.
“It’s a great comeback, especially against this team,” he said. “They can score points very quickly. The fact that we were able to come back, it shows a lot of things: this group is ready to fight and play until the end.”
James Harden added 21 points and Kawhi Leonard scored 20 for the Clippers, who held off 17 Warriors three-pointers.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points and distributed 11 assists for Golden State. Green scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Moses Moody contributed 21 points for the Warriors, who were without an injured Chris Paul.
Trailing by 22 early in the third quarter, the Clippers pulled within two but were down by seven heading into the fourth.
Thompson’s three-pointer cut the Warriors’ lead to 10, but the Clippers had twice cut it to one point and trailed 112-110 after Leonard’s reverse layup with 35.5 seconds left. the end.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook grabbed the rebound off a Curry miss to set the stage for George’s heroics.
In other early action, the Minnesota Timberwolves earned a dominating 123-117 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points, including 10 in a fourth quarter that featured six lead changes. Rudy Gobert added 26 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, whose 15-4 record is tied with the Boston Celtics for best in the league.
