April 01--The Clippers had won seven games in a row before they lost to the team with the best record in the league on Wednesday.
After their 110-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors, a reporter asked Chris Paul if it's time to worry.
"We lost one out of our last eight," Paul said. "It's probably time for us to panic, change the starting lineup and see what's going on."
Paul was obviously being sarcastic, but the loss did matter.
With only seven games remaining in their regular season, the Clippers are fighting for playoff seeding, trying to position themselves for homecourt advantage in the first round. The Warriors have secured the top spot in the West, and are 10 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Memphis Grizzlies.
In Wednesday's game, the Clippers had a 17-point lead over the Warriors in the first half before they let it slip away. The Warriors took their first lead of the game, 72-71, with just over 4 minutes left in the third quarter after Stephen Curry made a three-pointer.
The fourth quarter was then anybody's game.
The Warriors had a one-point lead, 103-102, before Matt Barnes fouled Andre Iguodala as he attempted a three-pointer with 1 minute and 10 seconds left. The Warriors went on to outscore the Clippers 7-4 in the final minute for the win.
Blake Griffin, however, was quick to caution that this was only one game.
"In a seven-game series, I like our odds against anybody," he said.
Griffin's words were true against the Warriors last year, at least. The Clippers bested the Warriors when the teams met in the first round of the playoffs, prevailing in the hard-fought seven-game series.
Added Griffin: "The championship is not won tonight."
