The Fifth Quarter: Warriors hold off Clippers, remain undefeated

Alec Brzezinski

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The Fifth Quarter: Warriors hold off Clippers, remain undefeated image

The Warriors rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the rival Clippers 112-108 at home Wednesday to stay perfect on the season.

Golden State trailed by four points heading into the fourth quarter, but Stephen Curry scored 12 of his game-high 31 points in the final period to help keep the Warriors undefeated at 5-0.

MORE: Biggest early-season disappointments | Early surprises

All five of Golden State's starters scored in double figures, but Harrison Barnes' 17 points and nine rebounds stood out. Klay Thompson added 16 points and hit two big free throws to seal the win. 

Chris Paul led the Clippers (4-1) with 24 points and nine assists but was not on the court in the final seconds because of a groin strain. Blake Griffin continued his fine play with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Here's more from Wednesday's action around the league:

Bradley Beal leads Wizards to stunning win over Spurs

The Eastern Conference looks pretty barren as far as title contenders go. After Cleveland, it's kind of a crapshoot. But Beal showed the Wizards (3-1) are for real when he hit a game-winner against the Spurs (3-2) with three-tenths of a second remaining. Beal finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. John Wall added 17 points and 13 assists for his second double-double of the season.

Tweets of the night

Kristaps Porzingis with the snag and dish to Carmelo Anthony:

LeBron James with the high-flying jam:

Porzingis cannot be stopped:

If only . . .

Stud of the night

Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points to go with five rebounds and three assists in a 103-98 win over the Thunder. Building on our Eastern Conference theme from above, Toronto knocked off Oklahoma City to move to 5-0 on the season. Take that, Western Conference powerhouses. Prior to this season, the Raptors had never even started a season 3-0.

Dud of the night

Nets shooting guard Joe Johnson continued his early-season struggles by scoring just five points on 1-of-10 shooting in a 101-87 loss to the Hawks. The loss dropped Brooklyn to 0-5 on the season, good for bottom of the barrel in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for Johnson, this wasn't an isolated incident. The 34-year-old came into the game shooting 32 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. It could be a long season for Nets fans.

What's next (all times Eastern):

Thunder (3-2) at Bulls (3-2), 8 p.m. — Both teams will be trying to rebound after tough losses. The Bulls were blown out by 25 points in Charlotte on Tuesday, and the Thunder have lost their last two games by five points apiece.

Heat (2-2) at Timberwolves (2-1), 8 p.m. — Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns has thus far made Minnesota look very good for using the No. 1 overall pick on him last June. Towns comes into the game averaging 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, but he'll face a stiff test against Miami's Hassan Whiteside.

Alec Brzezinski