Clippers’ rally falls short against the Warriors

After six games away from their home court the Clippers returned to Staples Center on Sunday to play the Golden State Warriors, who are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

But it wasn’t quite the homecoming they wanted.

They fell behind by 21 points in the third quarter and rallied to tie the score late in the fourth quarter before Golden State pulled out a 97-93 victory.

It looked as though the Clippers were not going to return to a devastated locker room when they went on a 13-2 run at end of third quarter and beginning of the fourth to reduce the deficit to 78-68 with just over 11 minutes remaining.

Reggie Evans was the spark that the Clippers needed, turning the lopsided route into a game with a quick six points in the first three minutes of the final quarter.

Blake Griffin then pounded the Warriors on offense, bulldozing his way to the basket to keep the Clippers nipping at the Warriors’ heels.

Mo Williams made a big three-pointer with 5:35 remaining to make it a two-point game, 83-81. Then a Griffin dunk with just over four minutes remaining tied the score, 83-83.

But the Clippers had some defensive lapses down the stretch, such as allowing Brandon Rush to make a put-back dunk and David Lee to sneak his way into the paint and shoot an open layup.

The Clippers fell to 23-16 with the loss.

They haven’t won two games in a row since mid-February.

Griffin led the Clippers with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Paul, who was wearing a protective face mask after suffering a broken nose Friday, finished with 23 points, a slight decline from his 29-point average over the team’s last two games.

The Clippers had split their last two games against Golden State -- a 105-86 win on Dec. 25 and a 104-97 loss on Feb. 20.