Warriors Snap Five-Game Losing Streak with a Convincing Win over the Clippers

With the Warriors playing sluggish basketball late, Head Coach Steve Kerr went to a secret weapon to re-install the infectious joy that had become a trademark with the Warriors.

A colorful figure appeared during the Splash Brothers' warmup routine. Flint Tropic's Jackie Moon appeared and even knocked down a half-court shot. Will Ferrell committed with his character, closing out on Klay Thompson a couple of times, and getting some shots up on his own.

"[Will Ferrell] emailed me a while back, and I didn't believe it was him," Kerr said. "So, we exchanged a couple of emails and concocted a plan. He's a huge Klay Thompson fan. He knows how much Klay loves dressing up as Jackie Moon, and it felt like a natural fit and a good time to do it."

The first quarter saw much of the same action from this recent five-game stretch. Though the Warriors shot only 33%, they held the Clippers to just 21 points as well.

"I think the attention to detail was better [last night]," Kerr said. "And I think it'll continue to get better, especially when we get Draymond [Green] and Andre [Iguodala] back. But, there's no reason why we shouldn't be good defensively again."

The second quarter saw a different story, as the Warriors found their offense and outscored the Clippers 33-15.

Jordan Poole continued his breakout season and had his fourth straight game with 20 or more points for the first time in his career. Poole had 13 points to jumpstart the offense in the second quarter alone.

A simple down-screen got Poole an open look from the right-wing. Then, while cutting backdoor, Stephen Curry found Poole, who executed an up-and-under move to extend the Warriors lead to 43-28.

Back-to-back threes and a mid-range jumper gave Poole the rhythm he needed to breathe some life into the Warriors' offense. With Poole still adjusting to his new role off the bench, it was refreshing to see the Michigan product continue his stellar play with the playoffs right around the corner.

"Just being aggressive, playing my game," Poole said. "I don't think I lost [my confidence]. I don't think it went up or down. Just figure it out throughout the game, and I guess there's different games night in and night out."

As for the usual firepower, Thompson finished with 20 points of his own. Though the Splash Brother struggled in the first half, a breakaway dunk got him going in the third quarter. Then, Thompson looked more like himself when he nailed a 3-pointer after curling from the left-wing.

Since his return from illness, Thompson struggled to get back into rhythm, but Thompson remained aggressive and perhaps was inspired by Jackie Moon to play with joy.

"We've been in a tough spot with these L's we've been stacking up, so I was very grateful to see Jackie [Moon]," Thompson said. "I just remember with my rehab that I would watch Semi-Pro during my dark days, and that movie always kept me in a good light."

The other Splash Brother had a quiet game but found a way to edge himself further into Warriors' lore. Curry broke Chris Mullin's record in all-time steals with 1,361.

In the historical play, an errand pass from Ivica Zubac found its way to Curry. Then, with Kuminga ahead of the pack, Curry threw a laser of a pass to the rookie, who threw down the transition dunk.

With this win, the Warriors hope to get back to their winning ways versus the Nuggets on March 10.

(Photo credit: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)