Too much Steph Curry as Clippers' season comes to end with play-in loss to Warriors

Stephen Curry scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half against Darius Garland (10), Kris Dunn (8) and the Clippers. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) It was do or die Wednesday night at Intuit Dome, and the Clippers did not do enough to keep their season alive, blowing a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter and losing to the Golden State Warriors, 126-121 .

Having rebounded from a franchise-worst 6-21 start to earn the next-to-last berth in the NBA play-in tournament, coach Tyronn Lue’s resilient bunch could not extend its historic comeback on its home floor. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points, Kristaps Porzingis and and Gui Santos each had 20, and Brandin Podziemski added 17. The Warriors were 19 for 41 from three-point range, with Al Horford hitting four in the fourth quarter.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench while Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland each added 21 points for the Clippers, who won three of the teams’ four regular-season meetings, including a 115-110 victory in the same arena four days earlier. Wednesday night, however, Leonard was held scoreless in the fourth quarter until the final seconds as the Warriors rallied. The Clippers got off to a hot start, scoring 12 straight points to take a 10-point lead 3:19 into the game, but Golden State used a 12-2 run of its own to tie it and took a 17-16 lead on Curry’s three-pointer just before the seven-minute mark.

A 15-5 run put the Clippers back up 31-22 at the end of the first quarter. Stephen Curry falls to the court to grab a loose ball against Clippers Bennedict Mathurin and Kris Dunn in the third quarter. (Allen J.