LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Clippers held off a furious late rally to upset the pace-setting Golden State Warriors 102-99 in the NBA 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 half-time.
Houston regained the initiative in the fourth quarter to grab the lead, but a late run by Milwaukee culminating in Lillard’s winner settled an enthralling battle.
Lillard, who finished with 18 points and 10 assists, admitted that his enforced layoff due to concussion had been a challenge.
“Normally when something is wrong with me I feel like I can will myself through it — but this was probably one of the first times in my life and definitely in my NBA career where I was like ‘something is off,’” Lillard said Monday’s win.
“It was a little frustrating. I just didn’t like not being with the team.”
Brook Lopez led the Bucks scoring with 27 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20.
In Phoenix, Franz Wagner poured in 32 points to help the Orlando Magic claim a 109-99 win over the depleted Suns.
Wagner was boosted by 20 points off the bench from Anthony Black while Goga Bitadze added 17.
Phoenix, missing the injured Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic, slumped to their fourth straight loss. Phoenix, who made a blistering 8-1 start to the season, fell to 9-6 after the defeat.
Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer called on his team to rally around each other as they weathered the injury-driven dip in form.
“Just stay together,” Budenholzer said. “You’ve got to keep going, keep doing the work and keep your head up. This group will do that. They’re very resilient.”
Elsewhere on Monday, Jimmy Butler finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Miami Heat pummeled the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 106-89. Tyler Herro added 18 for Miami as the Sixers once again stumbled despite leading by 19 points early in the second quarter.
Philadelphia are now bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 2-11 record. Sixers star Joel Embiid once again struggled with just 11 points.
