Poised Clippers hold off Warriors despite Steph Curry's second 50 ...

The LA Clippers prevailed against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, winning 134-126. Here’s what you need to know:

• Stephen Curry scored 50 points on 20-of-28 shooting from the field and 8-of-14 from beyond the arc. It is Curry’s second 50-point performance this season.
• It is the 22nd instance a player has scored 50 points this season.
• The Clippers improved to 37-33 with the win and the Warriors are now 36-34.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Clippers able to sprint past Curry’s scoring efficiency

The Clippers had allowed one 50-point performance this season entering Wednesday night. They almost won in Milwaukee in February when Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 54 points in what was ultimately a 106-105 Bucks win, a game where the Clippers had a 21-point third-quarter lead.

Curry scored 50 points on unreal efficiency: 20-of-28 field goals, 8-of-14 3s. Twenty-one of Curry’s points came in the third quarter. And yet, the Clippers were able to sprint past the Warriors in the third quarter and skip past them in the Western Conference standings. — Murray

Clippers show poise, control

Curry’s final 25 points all came while LA had the lead.  The Clippers took control of the game at the most important time, maintained poise and control, and outplayed the Warriors overall.

That makes four straight wins for the Clippers after they lost five in a row, and they don’t play another team with a current winning record until a visit to Memphis at the end of the month. — Murray

Putting Curry’s performance in context

This was Curry’s 12th career 50-point game. It was only the fourth of those 12 that the Warriors have lost. They are actually 0-2 this season in Curry’s two 50-point games. He scored 50 in Phoenix in November and they were blown out by the Suns. Before this season, they were 8-2 when Curry scored 50 or more. They hadn’t lost since 2013 in that type of game.

That’s the bad news for the Warriors. Not even volcanic Curry performances can solve their road trouble. But it’s attached to good news for the Warriors. Curry has come back from his most recent injury scorching. These are his six scoring lines.

• 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting, five made 3s
• 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting, 10 made 3s
• 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, four made 3s
• 36 points on 13-of-27 shooting, six made 3s
• 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, four made 3s
• 50 points on 20-of-28 shooting, eight made 3s

Re-read that last stat line. That’s 20 made field goals against the Clippers. Curry has only done that one other time in his career, making 20 shots in Orlando back in that unanimous MVP 2016 season. This tied a career high. — Slater

Backstory

Despite Curry’s 50-point night, the Clippers found a way to win. Kawhi Leonard (30) and Paul George (24) combined to score 54 points. The Clippers outrebounded the Warriors 44 to 36 and scored more points in the paint (50 to 48).

The Clippers sit in fifth place in the Western Conference. The Warriors sit in sixth place.

Highlight of the game

Steph scored 50 tonight as the Warriors fell in LA.

50 points6 assists8 threes pic.twitter.com/8YxFpJ8ES6

— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2023

Required reading

(Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)