Clippers are blitzed by Warriors, 121-104, leaving Doc Rivers upset

The friendly banter flowed easily between Chris Paul and Stephen Curry for a few days this summer inside an oppressively hot studio in Burbank.

The star point guards stashed away their rivalry, teaming up to shoot a new round of State Farm ads that are scheduled to debut on Christmas.

They were back to being enemies again Wednesday night at Oracle Arena, with Curry and the Golden State Warriors leaving a scowl on Paul’s face throughout an unexpectedly easy 121-104 victory over the Clippers.

Hard feelings? There might be a few after Curry smacked Paul in the face with an elbow late in the third quarter and Paul was called for a technical foul after leaping to his feet and complaining to the referee.

Curry was a nuisance all game long, driving past Paul for a layup and beating him on another possession with a behind-the-back dribble and a spin move. Curry missed the layup, but Andrew Bogut collected the ball as it bounced off the rim and dunked it.

It was that kind of night for the Clippers, whose chances of winning when they trailed by 23 points at halftime seemed as real as Paul’s imaginary twin, Cliff.

Things only deteriorated during a second half in which the Warriors led by as many as 29 points and eclipsed 100 points with 16.7 seconds left … in the third quarter.

“It’s no secret we’re not playing the right way. We’ve got to play better,” Paul said. “We kept saying, ‘We don’t leave off from where we were last year.’ A new team, but it starts with our core. We’ve got to figure it out.”

It’s clear something’s not right with the Clippers. Like, almost everything.

For starters, their defense is as rigid as cream cheese. The Clippers didn’t commit their first foul until there was 4 minutes 3 seconds left in the second quarter, and the fact they rarely had a hand in anyone’s face might have had something to do with it.

“I’ve never been in a game where a team scores 65 points and we have one foul,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “That, to the core of me, bothers me to no end. … That’s as soft as you can probably get in a game. One foul at halftime? Are you … kidding me? That’s as bad as I’ve seen.”

Rivers, who didn’t emerge from the locker room until 30 minutes after the game, was just getting started with an expletive-laced critique of his team.

“Forget what we’ve got to fix,” he said. “That, over anything, just told me that we weren’t very competitive and that bothers me.”

Curry scored 28 points on nine-for-18 shooting and Draymond Green added a career-high 24 for the Warriors, who shot 58.1% and improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

The Clippers (3-2) hardly were up to the challenge in their first game this season against an elite team. Of course, the Warriors had the added incentive of revenge after the Clippers edged them in a taut seven-game first-round playoff series last spring.

“Right now this is not the same group from last year and it’s the same group,” Rivers said of his team, “so we have to figure it out.”

This was the kind of showing one would expect from a rebuilding team, not a championship contender.

Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 24 points on eight-for-13 shooting off the bench and it wasn’t nearly enough to keep things competitive.

Paul had 15 points and 12 assists but largely struggled until the outcome was secured, missing his first six shots. He swished a 31-foot three-pointer in the second quarter over Curry, who immediately countered with a wide-open three-pointer.

Curry eventually apologized for his wayward elbow.

“It doesn’t make my jaw feel any better,” Paul said.

Pretty fitting for a team that is aching all over in the season’s early going.