Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 18 third-quarter points, allowing the Golden State Warriors to break open a close game en route to a 114-98 victory over the rival Los Angeles Clippers.
In recording their sixth consecutive win over the Clippers, the Warriors (64-7) completed their first 4-0 season-series sweep of Los Angeles since the 1985-86 season while going 57 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.
Curry (four) and Thompson (seven) combined for 11 3-pointers as the Warriors moved within eight wins of the Chicago Bulls’ all-time single-season record for wins with 11 games to go.
Curry, hitting 12 of 23 from the field, finished with a game-high 33 points. Thompson had 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting, helping Golden State win its 51st straight at home, 33 of which have come this season.
The victory allowed the Warriors to remain four games up on the San Antonio Spurs (60-11) in the battle for top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.
Draymond Green complemented the shooting efforts of Curry and Thompson with 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes (11) and Shaun Livingston (11) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who shot almost as well on 3-pointers (44.1 percent) as on 2-pointers (45.3 percent).
DeAndre Jordan amassed 19 points and 20 rebounds for the Clippers. Los Angeles (43-27) lost a half-game to the idle Memphis Grizzlies (41-31) in their duel for the fourth position in the Western playoff race.
The double-figure scoring night for Jordan was his 12th in a row, which equals a career best.
Thanks in large part to Jordan’s game-high rebound total, the Clippers avoided what could have been a sixth consecutive game with 35 or fewer boards. The five-game streak was tied for the third longest in NBA history.
The Clippers lost for the fifth time in six games, including four of five on the five-game trip that ended Wednesday.
Chris Paul, who entered the game with a 23.3-point scoring average against Golden State, struggled through a 4-for-16 shooting night.
However, with 13 points, six rebounds, eight assists and a steal, he did tie John Stockton’s record of 36 consecutive games with at least 10 points, five assists and one steal.
Reserves Austin Rivers (16), Jeff Green (13) and Jamal Crawford (12) also scored in double figures for the Clippers, who made only eight of their 28 3-point attempts.
The Warriors led just 51-49 at halftime but spurted out of the gate to start the second half, getting two 3-pointers and an assist from Thompson in a 10-1 run.
Golden State went on to lead by as many as 14 in the period, and it took a 30-foot 3-pointer at the horn by Paul to get Los Angeles back within 81-72 at quarter’s end.
Thompson, who shot 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the third period, bombed in his first two of the final quarter, helping Golden State push out to a 90-74 advantage.
The Clippers got back within seven in the fifth minute of the period, but Thompson turned a Green assist into a three-point play to make it a double-digit game again, and the Clippers never seriously threatened again.
© AFP
