Things turned testy in Game 2 of the Warriors-Clippers first round series. Even coaches got into it with players. With the battle shifting to The Bay for Games 3 and 4, Jermaine O’Neal is confident in his team’s fans helping to carry them to victory. Per Yahoo! Sports:
"We have a better fan base, to be honest," Warriors center Jermaine O'Neal said when comparing fans with Clippers.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 22, 2014
“It’s very intense right now,” O’Neal said. “Everyone wants to win. Everybody is looking for that blood. This league is about trying to smell what the weakness is. I don’t care if it’s the scorekeeper – there are going to be scenarios where you are trying to find an edge and keep yourself going.”
The Warriors were down 52-33 with 4:48 left in the second quarter when O’Neal was called for a foul on Clippers center DeAndre Jordan near the Clippers’ bench. After Rivers had words with the referee about the foul, he and O’Neal began jawing.
“I kept telling him I loved him,” Rivers joked. “I don’t know what he was saying. It wasn’t anything bad. Jermaine, I know him, he was talking and I told our guys just keep playing.”
Said O’Neal: “Things were said and we moved on.”
“We share a birthday,” said Rivers, who coached O’Neal for a couple seasons in Boston. “Two Libras. Two stubborn fools.”
Clippers guard Chris Paul said forward Matt Barnes, who played for the Warriors in the postseason in 2008, has been warning his teammates about how loud Oracle Arena will be. (Will) Meldman, the water-soaked supporter from Game 1, could even help rile up his fellow Warriors fans.
“We don’t expect any red in the crowd,” Chris Paul said.
