LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Los Angeles Clippers held off a furious late rally to upset the pacesetting Golden State Warriors, 102-99, in the National Basketball Association regular season on Monday.
Norman Powell led the Clippers scoring with 23 points including five three-pointers as the Los Angeles club improved to 8-7 for the season after downing the Western Conference leaders.
The Clippers led by 15 points late in the second quarter only to see the Warriors chip away at the lead to narrow the margin to three points at the end of the third quarter.
The Clippers dug deep to hold off Golden State in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors missed a three-point attempt from Gary Payton II on the buzzer that would have tied it to force overtime.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors scorers with 26 points, with Andrew Wiggins adding 22.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he had rallied his team at the end of the third quarter.
“I told them ‘they’re the number one team in the West for a reason’ — but we’re still up by three points, at home,” Lue said.
“But I’m proud of the team. They made a big run like they always do, and we were able to keep our composure and come away with the win.”
Elsewhere on Monday, Damian Lillard returned from a three-game concussion layoff to score a driving layup with 3.9 seconds remaining and give the Milwaukee Bucks a much-needed 101-100 victory over the in-form Houston Rockets.
Houston had gone into the game on the back of a five-game winning streak and looked ready to extend that run after racing into an early 13-point lead in the first quarter.
But Milwaukee, who are four places off the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 5-9 record after Monday’s win, responded superbly to lead by 12 points at halftime.