SAN FRANCISCO – The Chase Center crowd was ready to explode all night long and his team got off to a hot start to the season, making for a highly anticipated home opener.

Then it held its breath. Twice.

Late in the third quarter, star Steph Curry twisted his left ankle while trying to maneuver through a screen. He limped to the bench, where he stretched with an exercise band.

Curry returned to his usual substitution pattern with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. But on the Warriors’ first possession, he twisted his ankle again and had to be taken to the trainer’s room.

With the 36-year-old confined to the locker room for the remainder of the game with a sprained left ankle, his teammates bravely extended the Clippers’ double-digit lead, but ultimately fell short in a 112-104 loss. Golden State (2-1) committed too many turnovers and gave up too many second-chance points, which amounted to its first loss of the season.

Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors’ comeback by scoring 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers’ possession advantage was too great to overcome. Los Angeles made 23 more field goal attempts than the Warriors in the first three quarters. In total, they grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and forced the Warriors into 20 turnovers.

The Warriors won their first two games of the season by an NBA-record 77 wins, getting off to the greatest possible start. They picked up the pace, slowed down the defense, played a 12-man rotation and rained 3s. Everyone ate and spirits, which began at the training camp in Hawaii, were high.

But that was against Portland and Utah, expected lottery teams. On Sunday they faced a fairer fight.

The Clippers are in Golden State’s weight class, despite losing Paul George as a free agent (after a brief game-theory affair with the Warriors) and star Kawhi Leonard sidelined indefinitely. They are deep, expansive, large and have James Harden running through them.

They made sure the Warriors’ home opener wasn’t like their first two games.

Golden State trailed almost the entire game. Buddy Hield, who led the Warriors in scoring in their first two games, struggled to create a lead against the Clippers’ long wings.

Ivica Zubac (23 points, 17 rebounds) and Derrick Jones Jr. in particular caused problems for the Warriors. Jones drilled a pair of threes and completed fast breaks while Zubac was only on the glass for a handful. At halftime, the Clippers center had 13 points and 10 rebounds and continually provided additional possessions through tip-outs.

Los Angeles held the Warriors scoreless for the first four minutes of the second quarter, eventually sending Golden State to the locker room trailing 59-54 at halftime. The Clippers made nine more field goal attempts than the Warriors and easily won the possession battle thanks to their work on the boards and Golden State’s 12 turnovers in the first half.

The Warriors opened the second half with three turnovers, which inspired Steve Kerr to call a timeout less than two minutes into the third quarter.