Two teams that were flying high when they flew into town about 18 hours apart go head-to-head Sunday night when the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The Clippers rebounded from an overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns at home with a late rally that overtook the Denver Nuggets on the road for a 109-104 triumph Saturday afternoon.
One night earlier, the Warriors capped a remarkable two-game, season-opening trip with a 127-86 romp over the Utah Jazz.
The Clippers took three of four in the season series last year, but much has changed in the meantime.
Los Angeles lost Paul George to free agency and Kawhi Leonard to season-opening knee soreness. The Clippers, however, have split their two games in large part due to the play of James Harden.
Harden had 29 points and 12 rebounds in a 116-113 overtime loss to the Suns in the Intuit Dome grand opening on Wednesday. He then capped a 23-point, 16-assist outing with four late free throws that helped to ice the road win at Denver.
Norman Powell sank seven 3-pointers to highlight his 37-point performance against the Nuggets, following up a 17-point night in the season opener.
Harden had 21, 28 and 26 points in the Clippers’ wins over the Warriors last season. George and Leonard each missed one of the victories.
“I’ve been in this situation before, so it’s easy for me,” Harden said of taking a leading role. “I’m comfortable in this role. And then you get an opportunity to build guys up. Guys that feel like they don’t have the most confidence or are still trying to figure that role, you kind of help guys build their gut.”
The Clippers have managed to play competitively despite getting outscored significantly on 3-pointers. They’ve connected on just 20 of 62 from beyond the arc while their opponents have run up a 27-point advantage.
Meanwhile, the Warriors drained 20 3-pointers in their first game alone, a 140-104 thrashing of the Portland Trail Blazers, then matched it in Friday’s cakewalk at Utah. They’ve gone 40-for-98 and outscored their opponents by 69 points from beyond the arc.
The hottest hand has belonged to Buddy Hield, who was imported in the offseason to help fill the void left by one of the greatest 3-point shooters of all-time, Klay Thompson.
Hield has dialed up the Thompson glory days by burying 12 3-pointers and finishing with 49 points, both setting franchise records for most in the first two games of a season.
The 36- and 41-point victories gave the Warriors the distinction of becoming the first team in NBA history to open a season with two wins of at least 35 points. They did so by getting 13 double-figure scoring efforts, seven against the Trail Blazers and six more against the Jazz.
And don’t forget about the Golden State defense, backup center Kevon Looney warned.
“(Defense) has to be our calling card,” Looney said. “We have to be physical, we have to be fast, we have to be scrappy. I think the first two games we have embodied that.”
