The Nets held plenty of momentum and a 75-70 lead in the third quarter before the Warriors provided a reality check and quickly turned the tables to take a 20-point lead.
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Golden State found motivation in every single perceived slight heading into the season, most notably when Clippers head coach Doc Rivers hinted that the Warriors’ playoff run was lucky.
Klay Thompson added 26 points for the Warriors, and Draymond Green had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Fresh off his 40-point effort in Charlotte on Wednesday, Curry connected on his first five shots, including four 3-pointers, for 14 points as Golden State jumped to an 11-point lead after 12 minutes.
The Nets went on a run in the third and three straight jumpers from Thaddeus Young gave them a five point edge, 68-63, at the 6:58 mark of the third. By the time the starters checked in midway through the quarter, the lead had swelled to 106-89.
The Raptors (12-9) received a career-high 41 points from point guard Kyle Lowry, who added seven assists.
Following the Warriors’ 22nd straight win on Sunday night against the Nets, the question remains:when will the Warriors lose?
“We needed a little life, and we like to close out quarters pretty strong, get a nice lead and not look back from there”.
“A lot of Dub Nation, ” Curry said with a smile.
Stephen Curry scored 44 points to lead the Warriors.
Westbrook had his third triple-double of the season, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Thunder won their fourth successive home game.
Is Patterson back? While Patman is still struggling with his shot as he went 0-2 from 3, and 2-5 overall from the field, he still had an impact on the game. “When he needs to he can and when he doesn’t need to he takes a backseat to those guys”. “We constantly encourage our guys to be on the attack”. Great players don’t become great overnight.
As an old friend of ours would say, “We battled”. Once he starts to get going, starts to get in his rhythm, it’s hard to stop the whole team. “It brings out the best in them”. At times we got a bit confused on our matchups and transitions. They’ve gone through six back-to-backs this season unblemished.
“That’s what great players can do”, Lionel Hollins said of Curry. You really can’t fault them too much.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (21-0): Two of Golden State’s three wins on the road trip have come by exactly three points as opponents line up looking to be the one to end the streak. The shooting, the scoring, the ball movement, the defense, the versatility – it is all singular to this team, and as long as it’s not your team they’re doing that thing they do to, it’s nearly guaranteed to leave a smile on your face.
This was a Nets team that came within a Brook Lopez shot from point-blank range of upsetting the Warriors at Oracle Arena three weeks ago.
Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard added 14 points off the bench, including a big fourth-quarter 3-pointer that put Portland up 93-90. George also has reestablished himself as one of the best two-way players in the league by defending the opposing team’s best perimeter player.
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If Curry was not playing this season, perhaps George would be the leading candidate for the MVP award. “Some nights you might not shoot the ball well for 24 or 36 minutes”.
