OAKLAND, Calif. _ The eruption hit the Los Angeles Clippers in the third quarter, knocking them straight out of a game they once had a measure of control against the Golden State Warriors.
But by the time the Clippers had absorbed the 50-point third quarter from the Warriors, L.A. was well on its way to a 123-113 loss Thursday night at Oracle Arena.
It was the most points the Clippers have surrendered in a quarter this season _ the previous high had been 45 and that was against these very same Warriors and also in the third quarter last month.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant delivered the biggest blows the Clippers suffered in the third quarter, the two of them making sure L.A.'s losing streak to Golden State would be extended to 10 games.
Curry had 20 of his 35 points in the third, making five of eight from three-point range during that time.
Durant had 15 of his 25 points in the third, going three for four from beyond the arc.
Each three-point bomb dropped on the Clippers over the 12-minute stretch left them dizzy from an explosion that saw the Warriors go nine-for-15 from long range.
Clippers All-Star center DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 11 rebounds, but he lost his composure in the second quarter and was assessed a technical foul.
Austin Rivers had another strong outing with 19 points and Jamal Crawford had 19 points, but that just left the Clippers still looking for their first victory against the Warriors since Christmas in 2014.
The Clippers had outscored the Warriors 37-18 in the second quarter, building a 61-45 point lead in the process.
They were walking into the locker room with a 61-49 lead at the halftime when Jordan lost his cool, turning the calm and under-control play of the Clippers into a bad moment.
Jordan was upset no foul was called on a last-second play attempt by the Clippers at the end of the second quarter.
Jordan grabbed the ball as the two teams were headed to their locker rooms and threw it the opposite direction, drawing his 13th technical foul of the season, tying him for the second-highest in the NBA.
Before that unsteady moment, the Clippers had been steady in the second quarter.
They had shot 48 percent from the field in the second and held the Warriors to 33.3 percent shooting.
The Clippers had shot 50 percent (four-for-eight) from three-point range in the second, including a step-back three-pointer by Austin Rivers over Durant.
Then as he went back on defense, Rivers stole the ball from Curry and fed Jordan for a lob dunk that gave the Clippers that 16-point advantage.
All that meant in the end was that the Clippers have lost the four games to the Warriors this season by an average of 21.5 points.
