Jamal Crawford made a three-point basket from half court to beat the first-quarter buzzer, giving the Clippers a five-point lead, sending the crowd at Staples Center into a frenzy.
But that was a short-lived good feeling for Crawford and the rest of the Clippers reserve unit Saturday against the Golden State Warriors during Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The Clippers bench went eight for 30 shooting from the field, scoring only 26 points.
“We’re trying to find our rhythm,” said Crawford, who was two for 11 shooting from the field, one for five from three-point range. “But we didn’t have a choice or any options obviously with the injuries and things of that nature. But there’s no excuses. We had our chances today for sure, but they were able to come out on top and get it done.”
Darren Collison was two for nine shooting from the field (eight points) and had two turnovers in the final 37.7 seconds of the game.
Danny Granger was one for six (three points) and Glen Davis was three for four (six points).
“It wasn’t just the second unit,” Collison said. “I thought collectively as a team, we just made some mistakes early on. It just gave them [the Warriors] the confidence throughout the whole game.”
Back on the court
After missing the last nine regular-season games because of a strained left hamstring, Granger played Saturday.
Granger played 12 minutes 20 seconds and looked to be still trying to find his shot.
“Today I didn’t really feel out of rhythm,” Granger said. “I had open shots. I just missed them. I made a couple of plays. I was where I needed to be defensively. I don’t think it’ll be a matter of getting my rhythm back.”
Granger has had a history of injuries the last two seasons.
Granger only played in only five games during the 2012-13 season when he played for the Indiana Pacers because of left knee surgery.
He played in only 29 games for the Pacers this season because of a strained left calf.
After not playing the last two weeks with the Clippers, Granger said he is ready to play.
“I feel really good,” Granger said. “I’ve been practicing and I’ve been playing. I felt great.”
Etc.
An interesting stat was the Warriors out-rebounding the Clippers, 48-42, despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
