Warriors Put the Blocks to Clippers : Bol Has 8, Team 16 to Deny L.A. Rare Road Win, 113-111

Given a 14-point third-quarter lead and a good opportunity to win on the road for only the second time in 13 tries, the Clippers instead found their path blocked by Manute Bol and the Warriors in a 113-111 loss Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The Clippers, who have lost 10 of 12 and dropped to 8-16, don’t get many chances like this away from the Sports Arena. And, when they did, the win slipped through their hands and into the waiting arms of the Warriors.

“You don’t want to lose, at home especially,” said Golden State’s second-year guard Winston Garland, who recorded his second career triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. “That should fire any team up. . . . You don’t want to lose, especially to a team like the Clippers, who are not playing as well as some of the top-notch ballclubs.”

Garland’s attempt at diplomacy did not carry over to the court, where his attacks at the Clippers were far more direct. The same could be said for Bol, who missed badly on a rare 3-point shot attempt in the third quarter, but found other ways to make an impact.

He did what he does best: Shot blocking. Having come into the game No. 3 in the league in the category despite not being a starter, and after getting 10 at San Antonio in the previous game, he racked up 8 against the Clippers in 32 minutes of relief for Ralph Sampson.

Sampson had 3 blocks of his own, and the Warriors (10-12, and winners of 2 straight after losing 7 in a row) recorded a season-high 16 in all.

“Even if you don’t see him, you sense that he’s going to block your shots even if is 10 feet away from you,” Clipper guard Tom Garrick said of Bol. “He makes you think about your shot, about putting more arc on it than normal.”

Indeed, Bol and his fellow blockers bothered many of what Clipper shots they didn’t actually get. But, in truth, that’s hardly the only reason the Clippers were outscored, 40-25, in the all-important fourth quarter.

The Clippers, on the second leg of a 4-game trip that now takes them to Houston and San Antonio, used their big third-quarter push to lead, 86-73, going into the final 12 minutes. That’s when Golden State got hot.

The Warriors, who also got 30 points from Chris Mullin (20 in the first quarter) and 20 from Otis Smith, pulled within two, 96-94, after just 6:03 of the fourth quarter. They tied it, 98-98, on Sampson’s tip-in of his own miss with 4:45 left in the game. They went ahead for good three possessions later, 101-100.

The Clippers, led by Quintin Dailey’s 34 points, stayed within range. They trailed by no more than three points the rest of the and got within a basket, 111-109, on Reggie Williams’ 3-point shot with 34 seconds left.

But Smith put the game away for the Warriors with 18 seconds left, when his layup over Charles Smith made it 113-109. Dailey added a layup of his own in the final second remaining to account for the final score.

Clipper Notes

Gary Grant just missed his first career triple-double, getting 18 points, a game-high 14 assists and 9 rebounds. Only Quintin Dailey, with 10, had more rebounds for the Clippers. Both are guards. . . . Team president Alan Rothenberg, in the Bay Area because of personal business over the weekend, watched the game from courtside. . . . Golden State’s Chris Mullin hit 9 of 11 shots en route to his 20 points in the first quarter before cooling off the rest of the way. . . . The Clippers made all 8 of their free-throw attempts, but the Warriors went to the line 28 times, making 22.