Warriors rout Spurs

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – The Golden State Warriors fired a warning to their rivals as the NBA playoffs got under way on Saturday, routing the San Antonio Spurs 113-92 to serve notice they will not be dethroned easily despite Stephen Curry’s knee injury.

Klay Thompson scored a gamehigh 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and Kevin Durant added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to power Golden State.

“We played well. We played hard. We need to do even better next time,’’ Durant said before praising Thompson’s long-range heroics.

“Klay knocked down shots. He was really good. He was penetrating as well,’’ Durant said. “We won’t always make shots at that rate but we need to play good defense like that as well.’’

In Saturday’s other games, Eastern Conference top seed Toronto outlasted Washington 114-106 while the Philadelphia 76ers trounced the Miami Heat 130-103.

New Orleans dug deep to defeat Portland 97-95 in the late Western Conference game.

Earlier, the host Warriors updated star guard Curry’s left knee sprain before playing, saying he was making progress and will be re-evaluated next Saturday.

Curry, who missed Golden State’s last 10 regular-season contests, will intensify his rehabilitation work in the next few days.