It was a night of comebacks, debuts, and shifting playoff fortunes as the Los Angeles Clippers stormed back from a massive 17-point deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors 114-101 at the Chase Center on Monday, March 2, 2026. With the win, the Clippers improved to 29-31, slicing the Warriors’ Western Conference lead to just 1.5 games and gaining a crucial 2-1 edge in their season series. For the Warriors, now 31-30, the loss marked their second straight and raised the stakes for their upcoming road trip.
The spotlight shone brightest on Darius Garland, who made his long-awaited Clippers debut nearly a month after a blockbuster trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Garland had not played since January 14 due to injuries to both big toes, but he showed flashes of his All-Star form, coming off the bench for 23 minutes and contributing 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. While he also committed a team-high five turnovers, Garland’s presence was felt in a Clippers offense that has struggled for rhythm since trading away James Harden and starting center Ivica Zubac.
"He’s different from James and we can play different with a faster pace," head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters last month. "We can play him off the ball more. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it’s the first time I have had one since Kyrie [Irving]."
The game itself was a tale of two halves. The Warriors, despite missing a slew of key players—Stephen Curry (right knee injury, 11th straight game out), Kristaps Porzingis (fifth straight game, illness), Jimmy Butler (out for the season with a torn ACL), Will Richard (right ankle sprain), Gary Payton II (left ankle impingement), and Seth Curry—came out firing. Brandin Podziemski was electric in the first half, pouring in 20 of his 22 points before halftime and helping Golden State build a 56-42 lead. The Warriors’ defense, anchored by Draymond Green, stifled the Clippers early, holding Kawhi Leonard to just 3-of-6 shooting in the opening half and forcing the Clippers into a stagnant offensive rhythm.
But the Clippers regrouped at halftime, with Lue’s adjustments activating Leonard and jumpstarting Los Angeles’ attack. The third quarter saw the Clippers chip away at the deficit, highlighted by a Garland three-pointer and a Kris Dunn steal-and-score that cut the Warriors’ lead to just five. By the end of the third, the Clippers had closed the gap to 79-77, setting the stage for a dominant final frame.
The fourth quarter belonged entirely to the Clippers. Kris Dunn, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, drilled a corner three to give Los Angeles its first lead since the opening minutes. From there, the Clippers surged ahead with a 9-4 run and never looked back, outscoring the Warriors 37-22 in the final period. Leonard, who had been bottled up early, found his rhythm late and ended the night with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. The Clippers’ bench, led by Garland and supported by Yanic Konan Niederhauser (11 points, nine rebounds, four blocks), played a pivotal role in the comeback, outscoring Golden State’s reserves and providing key defensive stops.
For the Warriors, the loss was a gut punch. After their hot start, Golden State’s offense sputtered in the second half, shooting just 15-for-46 from the field. Podziemski, who had been so effective early, managed only two points after the break. Al Horford added 17 points and six rebounds, while two-way wing Nate Williams chipped in a career-high 18 points off the bench, including three three-pointers. Yet, with the remaining starters—De’Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, and Draymond Green—combining for just 21 points on 8-for-31 shooting, the Warriors could not keep pace.
Head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged the challenge of playing shorthanded: "We played a fantastic first half. Our defense was excellent. It’s tough to sustain that kind of effort for 48 minutes when you’re severely undermanned." The Warriors are now 4-7 since Curry last played and 6-11 since Butler was lost for the season, struggling to find consistency on both ends of the floor. Horford, reflecting on the team’s up-and-down campaign, remarked, "You can’t get too high or too low. You have to be able to stay the course and right now where we are, we obviously lost this one and now we have to find ways to be better and get ready for the next one."
The loss puts the Warriors’ playoff positioning in jeopardy. Now just 1.5 games ahead of the surging Clippers, Golden State faces a daunting five-game road trip starting Wednesday in Houston. With both the 8th and 9th seeds slotted into the Play-In Tournament, the difference between the two is significant: the 8th seed needs just one win to reach the postseason, while the 9th must win two. Every game down the stretch will be critical for Kerr’s squad, especially with their roster depleted by injuries.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are eyeing a late-season surge. The win not only narrows the standings gap but also gives Los Angeles a 2-1 edge in the season series against Golden State, with the tiebreaker potentially on the line in their regular-season finale on April 12. Garland, under contract through the 2027-28 season, is eager to make his mark in L.A. "I’m good with the change," Garland told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. "When it first happened, I was kind of skeptical. But I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer [Leonard] and having a ball in my hands damn near 99% of the time. [...] I’m in another good situation over here in L.A., trying to do something, trying to rebuild this whole brand of the Clippers, and try to make it one of the biggest teams in L.A."
As the Clippers prepare to host the Indiana Pacers at Intuit Dome on Wednesday, there’s a palpable sense of optimism. The franchise, so often overshadowed in Los Angeles, now has fresh energy with Garland’s arrival and Leonard’s continued leadership. Whether this new-look Clippers squad can parlay their comeback win into a sustained playoff push remains to be seen, but for one night at least, the process of building something new in L.A. truly began.