Point guard Stephen Curry scored 42 points and shooting guard Klay Thompson added 33 points as the Golden State Warriors rallied to defeat the Miami Heat 118-112 at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday.
Thompson had a streak of 15 straight Warriors points in the fourth quarter. Curry added seven assists and seven rebounds.
“I think the other team is worried when those shots go up,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of his policy to let his two top scorers shoot at will.
“Steph has license to shoot anytime he wants. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t let him shoot anytime he wants.”
The Warriors (51-5), the quickest team to 50 wins in NBA history, also got 10 points and 11 rebounds from forward Draymond Green. Golden State is 14-1 in its past 15 games.
Miami (32-25) was led by guard Dwyane Wade’s 32 points, his second 30-plus game this season. The Heat also got 21 points and 13 rebounds from centre Hassan Whiteside and a career-high 15 points from guard Josh Richardson.
Miami led 30-21 after the first quarter. The advantage would have been much greater if not for Curry, who scored 14 points, including a 35-footer that beat the first-quarter buzzer.
Wade and Whiteside each shot 5-of-5 in the first quarter, and the Heat was accurate on 56.0 percent from the floor.
Golden State cut the deficit to 55-51 at halftime. The Warriors got 10 second-quarter points from Thompson and improved their shooting from 34.8 percent in the first period to 50.0 percent at the half.
“I was getting good looks all night but I had to stick with it because a lot of them were going in and out,” said Thompson, who made 13-of-25 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 on three-pointers and 3-of-3 on free throws.
“Steph has incredible take-over ability,” Thompson said of his teammate. “We can both get hot. I try to play at his level, but…”
There were just two lead changes in the first two quarters but eight in the third. Curry scored 14 points in the third as Golden State again cut into Miami’s lead. The Heat, though, held an 83-80 advantage heading into the fourth.
“I thought the Heat outplayed us most of the game,” Kerr said of a Miami team that had its three-game win streak snapped. “But when Stephen and Klay shoot like that on the same night, we are tough to beat. They took over in the fourth quarter.”
© AFP
