What was once an intense rivalry between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers has cooled some lately. Last night’s Warriors victory—in which the Clippers were up 12 at the half before the Warriors dropped a 50-point third quarter on them and took over the game—was their tenth in a row against the Clippers. But just because the games have become less competitive doesn’t mean the shit-talking has slowed down at all.
The latest burst began before the season even began, in October, when Paul Pierce went on the radio to criticize Kevin Durant leaving the Thunder and joining the Warriors. Immediately Draymond Green responded, telling reporters:
I just wonder at what point do they get bored talking about the same thing. You got all these guys talking. Like (Paul) Pierce today, like, dude nobody care what you did or who you did it for. Just give it a break.
A couple of weeks later Pierce went on Bill Simmons’s now-defunct television show, and said repeatedly that the Warriors choked in the Finals: “Golden State choked. Like, seriously, I mean 3–1? 3–1? You’re not supposed to lose 3–1, you should never lose. Golden State choked. [I] never [blew a 3–1 lead]. That would never happen.”
Pierce didn’t play last night—he’s only played in 13 games all season—but that didn’t stop Green from clowning on him. A fortuitously placed microphone picked up Green telling Pierce, less than a minute into the game, “Chasing that farewell tour, they don’t love you like that. You can’t get no farewell tour, they don’t love you like that. You ain’t got that type of love. You thought you was Kobe.”
After the game, both Pierce and Jamal Crawford shot back:
I’m going to *bangs gavel* declare both sides heard here! The Warriors did indeed choke away the NBA Finals, and Paul Pierce isn’t getting (and isn’t going to get) a Kobe-style farewell tour. Let’s meet here again in, say, the second round of the playoffs?