Fans likely came to see Steph Curry during Sunday’s exhibition game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers in Honolulu.
Instead, they got a heavy dose of former Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Rui Hachimura’s Clippers and Graham Ike’s Warriors battled down to the wire before Los Angeles finally pulled away for a 104-101 win before 10,112 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The ex-Zags played significant roles.
Hachimura, who left the Lakers this offseason for the cross-town Clippers, scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds in 15 minutes. Ike, a rookie playing on a two-way deal with the Warriors, finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals.
“I felt good. This is a new system for me, a new team, a lot of new faces, coaches and coaching staff,” Hachimura told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “This is our first game. Overall, we did what we wanted to do. Offensively, we did pretty good sharing the ball and making the right plays. Defensively, we played really good, especially against Golden State and Steph.”
Ike’s tip-in put Golden State ahead 101-100 with 27.5 seconds left, and Los Angeles rookie Keaton Wagler hit a jumper to put his team up by one with 14 seconds to go. The Clippers’ Blake Wesley blocked Miles Kelly’s short runner with 3.9 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles’ Cam Christie was fouled with 2.5 seconds to go and hit two free throws to make it 104-101.
Ike missed a game-tying 35-foot shot as time expired.
It was technically a home game for the Clippers once again, but a majority of the fans were cheering for the Warriors. Curry’s No. 30 jersey, primarily in blue with yellow trim, numbered in the hundreds Sunday, and the shooting guard delivered 10 points in 13 minutes. Curry, to no surprise, received the loudest ovation during the player introductions.
But Hachimura received a nice ovation as well. The 6-8 veteran forward was born in Toyama, Japan, and played for GU from 2016-19.
“It’s Hawaii. There’s a lot of Japanese people here,” he said.
The Clippers’ Yuki Kawamura, a 5-7 guard from Yanai, Japan, received a huge ovation when he entered late in the third quarter. The crowd even started a ‘Yuki’ chant.
“I was happy for him,” Hachimura said of his Japanese countryman. “He looked a little bit nervous, but he did what he needed to do in the minute. He’ll have more chances just to find his role. I always tell him just be him and play his game and he’ll be fine.”
Hachimura, who spent the previous three seasons with the Lakers, finished 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
“We’re going to need him to rebound, going to need him to be able to score, going to need him to block, we’re going to need everything,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Today what he showed was really good and we’re going to need that from him every night.”
Hachimura and the Clippers play Saturday in Toronto. Ike and the Warriors were set to play host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.