Warriors crush Clippers as playoffs near

MANILA, Philippines – The Golden State Warriors showed they are primed for the NBA playoffs with a 131-104 thrashing of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, April 7 (Monday, April 8, Philippine time). 

Seven players breached double figures as the reigning two-time league champions won their fourth straight and locked in on the No. 1 ranking in the Western Conference with a 56-24 record. 

Steph Curry chalked up 27 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Kevin Durant had 16 points and 7 assists and Draymon Green finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks in the win. 

Steph Curry (27 PTS) fuels the home win over LAC and the @warriors clinch No. 1 in the West!#DubNation 131#ClipperNation 104

Kevin Durant: 16 PTS, 7 AST
Draymond: 10 PTS, 10 REB, 9 AST, 5 STL, 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/LrCgkWqWhU

— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2019

Also making their presence felt are DeMarcus Cousins, who delivered 12 points and 9 rebounds Kevon Looney, who chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, and Klay Thompson and Quinn Cook, who conjoined for 22 points.  

The Warriors held just a 62-55 lead at halftime before catching fire for 42 points in the 3rd quarter while limiting the Clippers to just 14 points to enter the final frame sitting on a comfortable 104-73 advantage. 

Landry Shamet put up 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Clippers, who dropped to 8th place in the West with a 47-34 record, while Lou Williams added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. 

Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets hit an NBA-record 27 three-pointers in a 149-113 romp of the Phoenix Suns for their sixth straight win. 

each of the @HoustonRockets NBA record 27 made three-pointers in their 6th straight win! #Rockets pic.twitter.com/8Y7wMYttOJ

— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2019

James Harden buried 5 triples en route to finishing with a game-high 30 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals while Eric Gordon drained 8 treys to end up with 26 points. 

Also joining the three-point party are PJ Tucker, who had all of his 12 points from beyond the arc, and Danuel House Jr, who drilled in 3 triples for 13 points. 

The Rockets improved to 53-28 for 3rd place while the Suns slumped to 19-62 for last place in the West. – Rappler.com