WARRIORS 97, CLIPPERS 93: Monta Ellis scored the tiebreaking basket and finished with 21 points and 11 assists as visiting Golden State defeated Los Angeles.

Dorell Wright scored 16 of his 20 points in the first quarter and David Lee had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.

Blake Griffin had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Paul scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which lost the opener of a six-game homestand and fell one game behind the first-place Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division.

Golden State squandered a 21-point lead and the Clippers tied the score at 83 on Griffin’s dunk with 4:30 remaining. Ellis followed with the go-ahead basket with 2:58 remaining to start an 8-1 run as the Warriors defeated the Clippers for the second time in three meetings.

The Warriors led 76-55 after Nate Robinson’s basket with 2:32 left in the third quarter before the Clippers displayed some life. Los Angeles used a frantic 28-7 push over the next 10 minutes to tie the score.

Ekpe Udoh scored 14 points and Klay Thompson added 11 for Golden State.

Randy Foye tallied 16 points and Reggie Evans had a season-best 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. Evans had seven offensive boards.

The Clippers hurt themselves by hitting just 19 of 35 free throws. Griffin was the worst offender, making just seven of 15 attempts.

Wright had four first-quarter 3-pointers and scored 13 straight Golden State points at one stretch to help the Warriors take a 28-16 lead.

Wright wasn’t the only hot shooter as Golden State shot 60.5 percent from the field and was 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half. The Warriors led 55-42 at intermission.

The double-digit assist game is the fifth of the season for Ellis.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Warriors guard Stephen Curry (ankle) started and didn’t score in nine-plus minutes. … Clippers forward Kenyon Martin (ribs) missed his second straight contest. … Ellis’ career high for assists is 13. … Evans has four double-digit rebounding games.