Clippers rally from 17 down to top Warriors in Garland's debut

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Clippers have been finding ways to grind through a difficult stretch, and Monday night at Chase Center, they did it in the most dramatic fashion possible.

Down 17 points at halftime, the Clippers flipped the switch in the second half and walked out of San Francisco with a 114-101 win over the Golden State Warriors, improving to 29-31 on the season.

It was the kind of moment this team needed badly.

A New Weapon Arrives

Nearly a month after the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to Cleveland, two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland finally made his Los Angeles Clippers debut, and the early returns were promising.

Garland came off the bench and logged 23 minutes, finishing with 12 points, two assists and a steal.

Head coach Tyronn Lue made the decision to keep Garland away from Kawhi Leonard early, letting the guard find his own rhythm before integrating him further into the starting lineup.

"Just bringing him off the bench so he doesn't have to play with Kawhi," Lue told reporters. "So he can kinda find his own rhythm, his own timing, and just try to run everything through him."

Leonard, for his part, liked what he saw from his new running mate.

"Stayed aggressive. Knocked down some open shots. Just very promising out there," Leonard said of Garland's debut. "He was very active defensively when guarding some couple of centers in the post. Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed his performance tonight."

Garland, who has been out since January 14 with a toe injury, credited Leonard as a big reason for his rush to return.

"I couldn't turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer and having a ball in my hands damn near 99% of the time," Garland said.

The Bench Steals the Show

While Leonard led the team with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists, the story of the second half belonged to the Clippers' reserve unit.

Los Angeles backups outscored Golden State's bench 52-41, and four reserves finished in double figures.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser was a force in the frontcourt, posting 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds while also contributing defensively with a blocked shot in the fourth quarter.

The 2025 first-round pick has shown flashes of real promise this season, and Monday was one of his better outings.

Jordan Miller also stepped up with 12 points off the bench and was active on the defensive end, recording two blocks in the fourth quarter as the Clippers protected their lead down the stretch.

Bennedict Mathurin added 17 points off the bench, giving the Clippers an unusually deep night from their second unit, and Kris Dunn posted a near triple-double with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

A Dunn steal and layup in the third quarter was the play that started to swing the momentum, pulling Los Angeles within striking distance before they eventually took control in the fourth.

A Statement Win

The Clippers trailed 56-42 at halftime, with Brandin Podziemski pouring in 20 of his 22 points in the first two quarters for Golden State.

But the Warriors were shorthanded, missing Stephen Curry for an 11th straight game with a right knee injury, along with Kristaps Porzingis, Jimmy Butler III, Gary Payton II and Will Richard.

Still, erasing a 17-point deficit on the road is no small task, and this win carries real weight in the standings.

Golden State falls to 31-29, and the Clippers have now trimmed the gap between them and the eighth-place Warriors to just 1.5 games.

Los Angeles also now holds a 2-1 edge in the season series, putting the Clippers in position to claim the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win in the regular-season finale on April 12.

With a deep stretch of games ahead in March, including multiple back-to-backs, getting Garland healthy and integrated into the lineup at this moment could not come at a better time.

The Los Angeles Clippers return home Wednesday to host the Indiana Pacers at 7:30 p.m., which will also mark Garland's Intuit Dome debut.