NBA: racism cloud hangs as Clippers turned inside out

Mired in controversy after racist comments attributed totheir owner, the Los Angeles Clippers suffered one of their worst losses in NBAplayoff history on Sunday.

Stephen Curry scored 33 points, 17 of them in the first8:30, to power the Golden State Warriors to a 118-97 victory over the visitingClippers, leveling their Western Conference best-of-seven opening-round seriesat two wins each with game five Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Andre Iguodala added 22 points for the Warriors while JamalCrawford came off the bench to lead the Clippers with 26 points.

Blake Griffin added 21 points and Chris Paul had 16 for theClippers, who made a silent protest before the game by dumping their warm-upuniforms in the middle of the court and turning their red shirts inside out sothe team name and logo were not visible.

"It was just something guys talked about,"Clippers star guard Paul said. "It had nothing to do with the game."

But for many, the focus was less upon the outcome and moreon the aftermath of Saturday's release of recordings that purport to haveClippers owner Donald Sterling saying he does not want black people to attendhis team's games.

"I think both teams were somewhat bothered by what hastaken place in the last 24 hours," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said."It was insulting to all of us. Everyone was affected, not just theClippers."

The Clippers played like the controversy was a distraction,even though they denied it had any impact upon their performance.

"It was just like any other game," said Clippersstar Blake Griffin.

"There are distractions all the time. We didn't do whatwe were supposed to do. We didn't stick to the things that made us successful.We've just got to lock in and get ready for game five. We've got to correct ourmistakes and get better."

When asked if the racist remarks could have sapped theteam's spirit and taken a toll, Paul replied, "Nope.

"It's about those guys in the locker room. We prepared.We went to training camp. It's what we've been working to do."

Blocking it out "is what we do," said Paul, whoblamed himself for not guarding Curry better.

Clippers coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers took the blameon himself for not preparing the team better.

"I thought I did the right stuff to get them ready andI really didn't. I have to do a better job," Rivers said. "And ifit's because of the other things, it's still my fault.

"I know what's going on. I get it. But we still havejobs to do and we didn't do them tonight. It starts at the top and it startswith me. I just didn't like our spirit. I liked it before the game. I was justwrong on it. I can't blame them for that."

For now, Rivers is searching for the common thread to unitehis players before the series and the season slip away.

"I've got a job to get our team right no matter what iscircling," Rivers said. "They are getting pulled in so manydirection. We have to figure out how to pull them in one direction."

Curry applauded the Clippers for how they handled thecontroversy.

"It's unfortunate that it's taking off what's going onon the court," Curry said. "Kudos to the Clippers for handling it theway they have. It's all about the players and what's happening on the court.Hopefully fans can focus on that."