LOS ANGELES _ The Golden State Warriors finished with a 129-110 Game 6 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, which closed out a first-round series and cemented a second-round matchup against the Houston Rockets beginning on Sunday.
The Warriors rectified a Game 5 loss against the Clippers in Game 6 by doing a few things. They leaned on Kevin Durant, who had 50 points while shooting 15-of-26 from the field, 6-of-14 from 3 and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. They elevated their defensive intensity led by Draymond Green, who also had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Warriors prevailed despite Stephen Curry rolling his right ankle in the first quarter. Although Curry remained in the game, he had a modest 24 points while going 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep. Klay Thompson had only nine points 3-of-10 shooting, though he made a handful of defensive stops.
To account for the game's importance and the Clippers smaller lineup, Warriors coach Steve Kerr started veteran guard Shaun Livingston over center Andrew Bogut along with Curry, Durant, Thompson and Green. He only had two points on 1-of-5 shooting, but that allowed Andre Iguodala (15 points) and Kevon Looney (two points, two rebounds) to play in their established bench rotations.
Durant became the first Warriors player to have consecutive 40-point playoff games since Rick Barry accomplished that feat on April 18 and April 20, 1967. Durant is also the fourth Warriors' player to have a 50-point playoff game, including Barry, Sleepy Floyd and Wilt Chamberlain.
