By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — The first victory of the Clippers’ Russell Westbrook Era remains elusive.
Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points but he was the only Clippers who had a good shooting night as the Clippers built an 11-point halftime lead and then crumbled under a barrage of misses for their fourth straight loss.
Jordan Poole scored 34 points, Klay Thompson had 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors used another big second-half surge to rally past the Clippers, 115-91, on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.
Even with starters Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins still on the sidelines, the defending champions are suddenly looking like a serious contender again no matter how far they might fall behind.
“I just feel there’s a grit that comes with defense that allows you to shake it off and keep playing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his team’s comebacks.
Leonard hit a deep 3-pointer to beat the buzzer that ended the second quarter, putting the cold-shooting Clippers ahead 56-45 at halftime.
Then the Warriors came charging back with a 42-point third quarter while holding the Clippers to 16 points in the period to lead 87-72 heading into the final 12 minutes. Golden State did the same thing with a comeback win against Portland on Tuesday night.
“They got up 11, but we were still right there because we were defending and taking care of the ball,” Draymond Green said. “To have those couple third quarters like we’ve had the last two games gives you something to build upon, you feel good about yourself and also understand what it takes coming out of the half.”
Green added 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a physical battle between rivals fighting for playoff position in the tightly packed Western Conference. Donte DiVincenzo struggled with his shot, going 2 for 10, but grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.
The Clippers’ Mason Plumlee had a season-best 20 rebounds and…
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