Steve Kerr learns from mistake, trusts youngsters as Golden State Warriors complete important win

Steve Kerr's decision to remove Moses Moody in the fourth-quarter of Tuesday's game had become a big storyline over the last 48 hours, with the Golden State Warriors' head coach labelling his decision as 'terrible'.

Although partly due to necessity with an absent trio, Kerr made amends by trusting in his younger players more in Thursday's matchup against the LA Clippers. He was duly rewarded, with Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski playing big roles down the stretch as the Warriors pulled out a much-needed victory against their pacific rival.

Seven of the Golden State Warriors' nine players scored double figures in a team-first 120-114 win over the LA Clippers at Chase Center on Thursday night.

After a slightly slow start to the game, Golden State found their rhythm offensively as their bench unit built an 18-point lead with just over four minutes to go in the first-half. The Clippers finished the half on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 11, bringing with it fears of a repeat of Tuesday's meltdown against the Kings.

Those fears were furthered when LA cut the margin to four early in the third period, before Golden State quickly responded with a 7-0 run. The game was largely a back-and-forth affair over the remainder, with the Warriors finding an answer whenever the Clippers made a push.

That included an important stretch from veteran shooting-guard Klay Thompson who, after an inefficient game to that point, scored 10 straight-points early in the fourth-quarter. Without the injured Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul and Gary Payton II, Kerr put his faith in Kuminga, Moody and Podziemski for big fourth-quarter minutes, with the latter pair closing the game alongside the celebrated trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson.

Curry sealed the game late with a series of layups and free-throws, finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Make no mistake though, this was a team-orientated performance with a raft of positives.

Thompson added 22 points and six rebounds, while Green had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Starting in place of Wiggins at small-forward, Moody had 13 points on 6-10 shooting and added perhaps the play of the game -- with the Clippers surging in the third-quarter and the Warrior lead at four, the third-year wing came up with an offensive rebound from his backside before finding Thompson for the mid-range jumper.

Podziemski played over 31 minutes after a DNP on Tuesday, recording 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 5-10 shooting and 2-4 from three-point range. He and Kuminga were crucial off the bench, with the athletic third-year forward producing one of, if not his best game of the season. Kuminga had 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block, while shooting 6-8 from the floor and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Dario Saric also contributed to the Golden State bench outscoring the Clippers 44-31, with the Croatian finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

After conceding over 40 free-throws and recording over 20 turnovers against the Kings, there was a clear emphasis on avoiding those issues against the Clippers. Golden State had seven more free-throw attempts than LA, while also recording an exceptionally low seven turnovers for the game.

The Warriors now move to 9-10 on the season, with the teams set to head to Los Angeles for a rematch at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday afternoon.