Pacific Division Roundup: Green ignites Warriors, Clippers need help, Allen out, Williams enjoys healthy season
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The Golden State Warriors dropped Friday’s game in Sacramento, but a 38-19 third-quarter outburst left head coach Steve Kerr encouraged as the club heads to the play-in tournament. After challenging Draymond Green to provide more on-court energy, Kerr saw the veteran forward spark a 12-2 run that erased a 12-point halftime deficit. Green’s aggressiveness produced stops, drew a Flagrant 1 foul on Devin Carter and triggered several shoving matches, including one with Maxime Raynaud. Gary Payton II later picked up his own Flagrant 1 and a technical foul for throwing the ball at Carter.
“We had one good stretch in the game, third quarter,” Kerr said. “Draymond got things stirred up a little bit. We needed that fire, that edge.” Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski added, “Everyone was just kind of having fun with the game.” Kerr rested most regulars late in the otherwise meaningless contest, and the Kings rallied to claim the win.
Clippers stumble, must beat Warriors to climb
The Los Angeles Clippers fell behind Portland by 20 points, briefly rallied to take the lead, then faded down the stretch in Friday’s loss. To reach the No. 8 seed, L.A. now has to defeat Golden State in Sunday’s finale and get outside help. “We just got to do it the Clippers way, the hard way every time,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “They played better than us.”
Allen exits with hamstring injury
Suns guard Grayson Allen left Friday’s matchup against the Lakers after landing awkwardly on a second-quarter jumper over Deandre Ayton. Allen has been ruled out of Sunday’s game, joining Devin Booker (right ankle injury management), Dillon Brooks (left second metacarpal injury management) and Royce O’Neale (left knee injury management) on the sideline.
Williams celebrates healthiest campaign
In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Suns center Mark Williams said he enjoyed the healthiest season of his career, appearing in 60 games after never topping 44 in any previous year.
Source: Hoops Rumors
