LOU WILLIAMS SCORED 25 points from the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers upset the league-leading Golden State Warriors 121-116 in a wild overtime thriller at the Staples Center last night.
Williams reeled off 10 of his points in overtime to secure victory after the Clippers squandered a 14-point fourth quarter lead before digging in for the win.
The 32-year-old veteran was supported by 23 points from the bench by Montrezl Harrell as the Clippers improved to 8-5 in the Western Conference standings.
The Warriors remain on top of the West after suffering only their third loss of the season. The NBA champions are 11-3 following the defeat.
Kevin Durant led the scoring with 33 points while Klay Thompson had 31, including five three-pointers.
The Warriors had trailed for much of the game, and appeared to be sliding toward a loss before a determined fourth quarter rally transformed the contest.
A Williams three-pointer had put the Clippers ahead by 101-87 with 6min 36 remaining before the Warriors came roaring back.
Thompson tied the game at 106-106 with 1:27 left on the clock but neither side were able to take a decisive advantage, sending the game into overtime.
Williams then took over with 10 points as the Clippers completed a morale-boosting victory.
Earlier Monday, the Warriors’ loss was mirrored by a defeat for their Eastern Conference counterparts, the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors suffered only their second defeat of the season in a 126-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in Toronto.
Anthony Davis had 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead a superb all-round offensive performance from the Pelicans, who saw four starters crack double digits.
New Orleans improved to 7-6 with the win, which was another sign the Pelicans are back on track after a six-game losing streak which jolted their early season progress.
- Sending a message -
The Pelicans have now won three straight to move up in the Western Conference standings.
Davis said New Orleans had been determined to send a message after their six-game slump.
“We just had to get back to it,” Davis said. “We lost five in a row on the road and we’re a better road team than that.
“We just have to be dominant on the road again and this was our next road game, so we had it in our mind.
“It was a good test for us; best team in the East and we’re on the road, so we just made a conscious effort to get this one.”
Davis was given support from across the Pelicans line-up on Monday, with E’Twaun Moore, Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle all making significant scoring contributions.
Moore led the scoring with 30 points while Holiday poured on 29 points with 14 assists to hush the Raptors’ home crowd at the Scotiabank Arena.
The Pelicans defense successfully kept Toronto’s dangermen in check, with Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam restricted to 20 and 22 points, respectively.
Point guard Kyle Lowry was held to just four points from 33 minutes on court as the Raptors fell to 12-2.
Elsewhere Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers celebrated the capture of Jimmy Butler with a 124-114 win over the Miami Heat.
Butler, who completed his acrimonious trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier Monday, is not expected to make his first appearance for the Sixers until Wednesday.
Even without Butler, however, the Sixers had too much firepower for the Heat, who rapidly wilted in the face of a 35-point display from Joel Embiid.
The Cameroon star also pulled down 18 rebounds in a dominant performance. J.J. Redick had 25 points while Ben Simmons added 13.
Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala and Furkan Korkmaz all had double-digit points tallies off the bench for the Sixers.
© AFP 2018
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