Darius Garland debuts, leads Clippers to resounding victory over Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO — Plagued by slow starts, this time, the Warriors couldn’t finish.After coach Steve Kerr called out the Warriors’ effort while falling behind early in their last game against the Lakers, they responded by jumping out to a 17-point first half lead against the Clippers.It all fell apart after halftime in a 114-101 loss.“The second half got away from us — all of us,” Kerr said.“It wasn’t one thing or one player.

We struggled to score and they picked up their defensive intensity.”Kris Dunn drained a corner 3 on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give the Clippers their first lead since early in the first period and scored nine of his 16 points after halftime. Matched up almost exclusively against Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard’s 37-game streak of scoring 20 or more looked to be in serious jeopardy — until he exploded for 15 in the second half to finish with 23.Benedict Mathurin added 15 after halftime to finish with 17, and Darius Garland contributed 12 off the bench in his Clippers debut.“They were great in the second half,” Kerr said.Golden State was locked in from the get-go on defense, turning six turnovers into nine points and holding the Clippers to 7-of-24 from the field while jumping out to a 31-19 lead after one.“Our defense was excellent,” Kerr said.

“We were flying around, getting some good shots.And we didn’t foul.

… They were really good defensively in that second half.We just couldn’t get anything to go.”Brandin Podziemski poured in 20 points in the first half but added only two points to that total after halftime.

Al Horford finished with 17 — a team-best 11 in the second half — but Golden State couldn’t pick up the slack.The Warriors committed 10 turnovers that led to 17 points and shot 15-of-45 (33.3%) from the field as they watched a 56-42 halftime lead turn into a double-digit defeat.There are now just 1.5 games separating the Warriors and the Clippers in the Western Conference...