Warriors can not take advantage of Klay Thompson's late blast in OT's loss to Clippers

LOS ANGELES – Klay Thompson adheres to a strict code: no matter how many shots he misses, he will continue to hoist the jumpers. The setbacks can only last a very long time for one of the greatest shooters in the history of the NBA, is not it?

After working three-quarters Monday night, Thompson clinched one of his signatures, adding 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to bring the Warriors to unexpected extra time. But with Stephen Curry sidelined by a groin injury left and Kevin Durant early in the game, the Warriors lost 121-116 to the Clippers for their second loss in three games.

"We have not played very well for more than 40 minutes," said head coach Steve Kerr. "We were moving on to motions, without putting up a stand, and then our defense picked it up in the last six minutes, which allowed us to get back into the game.

"It gave us a chance to win, but we did not deserve it."

During the night with the help of his secondary cast, Durant was an aggressor. Late in the third quarter, while the Warriors were down 10, Durant was heading to the bench with his fifth foul after committing a foul from Los Angeles striker Montrezl Harrell. By the time Durant returned to the ground while he was less than nine minutes in regulation, Golden State was late on 96-85.

Durant repeatedly forced isolation situations, only to be whitened by double teams. Then Thompson finally found his rhythm. While the Warriors were down 106-98 and it was less than three-and-a-half minutes, Thompson hit a long jumper and two-point three-pointers to tie the game with a time remaining at 1:27 in the regulation. Clippers guard Lou Williams, who led Los Angeles with 25 points off the bench, missed two riders to allow Golden State to play its first extension of the season.

While there remained the Warriors at 109-106 and he remained 3:46 minutes, Durant was whistled and ended his night. He set an important test early in the season: Without Durant and Curry, Golden State could defend against a team of inspired Clippers on the road?

The answer was no, it was not for lack of trying Thompson. With 1:52 remaining in overtime, Thompson hit a 20-foot jumper to give Golden State a 113-111 lead. Forty-five seconds later, he grabbed a pass from Andre Iguodala and punched a three-pointer to tie the match 116-116.

However, after a slowdown at Williams, Thompson's half-jumper with 42.7 seconds left the iron, and Williams, who scored 10 of the Clippers' 15 points in overtime, made three late shots to seal the fate Warriors.

Now, just days after winning 10 of his first 11 games, Golden State seems to suddenly become a bit vulnerable. This obviously does not help that Curry missed his second consecutive game on Monday. Curry, who has not traveled with his team in Los Angeles, has already been out of Tuesday's game against Atlanta at Oracle Arena.

Meanwhile, Durant and Thompson may need more help.

Prior to Thompson's late blast, Durant had done everything to keep Golden State in the game, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his eleventh triple-double career and his first of the season. Thompson and Durant combined 55.2% of the Warriors offensive.

Quinn Cook, who started in the absence of Curry, accumulated seven points in 22 minutes. Draymond Green, back in training after missing two games with a sore right foot, missed six of his nine shots.

"We must all be aggressive and not only watch the main players late in the game," said leader Shaun Livingston. "We do not want to play 3 against 5 or 2 against 5. We want to play basketball 5 against 5. … It's up to us to help these guys.

The Warriors are now back in Oakland for the Tuesday's clash against the Hawks. With so little time to regroup, can they get out of their mini-slump against one of the worst teams in the league?

"The season is long," said striker Kevon Looney. "We are not really worried."

Connor Letourneau is an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Con_Chron