The Golden State Warriors will look to advance to the second round of the 2019 NBA playoffs Friday night when they play at Staples Center in Game 6. The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to extend the first-round series and pull off one of the most shocking upsets the league has ever seen.

The Clippers trail their series with the Warriors 3-2, and they've got a chance to force a deciding Game 7 after everyone had left them for dead. Los Angeles stunned Golden State with a win at Oracle Arena in Game 5 following two straight home losses.

Can L.A. get two wins in a row of their own?

Anything is possible, considering it was largely assumed Golden State would roll to the second round. The back-to-back defending champions had never lost more than one game in the first round during their stretch of four straight NBA Finals appearances.

Golden State is still the league's most talented team, by far. There really is no comparison between them and Los Angeles. The Clippers don't have anyone that compares to Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, both of whom combined to score 69 points on just 41 field-goal attempts in Game 5.

It was Golden State's defense that failed them Wednesday when Los Angeles beat them 129-121 on their home floor. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell have devastated the Warriors in their two losses this series, and they'll look to do so again in Game 6.

The Warriors are well aware that they are the much better team. Maybe the Game 5 defeat will force them to be more focused in the potential clincher.

“Just go do what we do,” an annoyed Klay Thompson told reporters Wednesday night. “Build from this game - this game sucked, we lost. Let’s go win. Let’s win big. Freaking win by 30, like we’re capable of.”

Golden State found themselves in a similar situation last week when they blew a 31-point lead in the second half of Game 2. The Warriors didn't allow the Clippers to breathe in Game 3, winning 132-105 in Los Angeles. Durant led the way with 38 points in 30 minutes, and he wasn't even needed in the 4th quarter, which began with Golden State up by 33 points.

Durant has largely been unstoppable since being frustrated by Patrick Beverley in the first two games of the series. He's averaging 38.7 points on just 23.3 field-goal attempts per game over the last three contests. Stephen Curry is averaging 24.8 points per game on 49 percent shooting, and his numbers would look even better if it wasn't for his Game 4 clunker.

If Golden State can clamp down on the defensive end, Game 6 shouldn't be close, mirroring what they did the last time after they were upset at home.

The Warriors are up to 10-point favorites, according to the latest betting line at OddsShark, and the total is 233. Golden State is the right bet. They should win this one going away.

Just be wary that the Warriors could be looking ahead to the Houston Rockets, which has seemingly come back to bite them twice already this series.

Predictions against the spread: Golden State over Los Angeles, 125-109

Golden State Warriors Durant
Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors is congratulated by Draymond Green #23 and Andrew Bogut #12 after he dunked the ball against the Denver Nuggets at ORACLE Arena on April 02, 2019 in Oakland, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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