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Warriors, Clippers renew rivalry in LA

Mar 31, 2015 - 1:57 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Two of the top-scoring teams in the NBA duke it out Tuesday, as the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers renew hostilities at Staples Center.

The Warriors and Clippers are Pacific Division rivals and not very fond of each other. The Warriors recently captured a division crown and have won nine in a row and 14 of their last 15 games.

Golden State set a franchise record with its 60th win of the season, a 108-95 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday which clinched homecourt advantage through the Western Conference playoffs.

Stephen Curry, who was named conference Player of the Week on Monday, had 25 points and Klay Thompson added 21 for the Western Conference-leading Warriors, who shot 51.2 percent and are 3-0 on a four-game road trip.

Harrison Barnes posted 13 points and six rebounds and Marreese Speights supplied 12 points and seven boards for the Warriors.

"Wins and losses might not matter when it comes to the standings but we want to win as many games as possible and we want to feel good about how we're going into the playoffs," Curry said after the Warriors secured the best mark in the West for the first time since 1975-76.

The Warriors haven't lost since March 13 at Denver and are 26-11 on the road. They are also 40-0 when holding teams under 100 points and averaging an NBA- high 109.8 points per game. Golden State is first with a 47.8 field goal percentage.

Golden State, which owns a 35-8 mark against teams from the West, will return home to host Phoenix on Thursday before playing three more on the road at Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans.

The Clippers sit second in the league in both scoring (106.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (47.3), and completed an unblemished three-game trip with Sunday's 119-106 victory over the Boston Celtics.

J.J. Redick scored 27 points, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul each had 21 and Matt Barnes netted 18 points with seven rebounds for Los Angeles, which shot 48.8 percent from the field and scored 105 points through three quarters. Paul handed out 10 assists and DeAndre Jordan provided 15 points and 14 boards.

"Our ball movement is sensational right now," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "We haven't been a great travel team up until now. We had amazing focus when we left on this trip. They felt like these are the games we can get."

Rivers' squad is fifth in the West standings - 1 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio - and has won seven straight and 12 of the last 16 games. The Clippers are 27-10 as the host and will start a three-game trek Wednesday against Portland, Denver and LA Lakers.

Los Angeles is 31-14 against conference foes this season, going 18-5 at home, and has lost two of three meetings with Golden State this season. The Pacific rivals have split the last 16 games in this series, including the playoffs.

The Clippers have won four in a row at home versus the Warriors.

In the last meeting on March 8, a 106-98 win by Golden State, Clippers reserve guard Dahntay Jones bumped into Warriors forward Draymond Green during his postgame interview. Jones denied bumping Green on purpose.

"I think he wanted a reaction from me, but he don't play," Green said.