Warriors eclipse Magic
oakland — Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 29 points in the first quarter and the Golden State Warriors cruised past the Orlando Magic 122-92 in the NBA on Thursday night.
Stephen Curry added 25 points and nine assists after appearing to injure his right foot in the opening minutes, Andre Iguodala scored 14 and Zaza Pachulia had 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Warriors improve to an NBA-best 5414 and clinch their third straight Pacific Division title.
Thompson, who owns the NBA record for most points in one quarter with 37 against Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2015, was almost perfect in the opening period against Orlando. The three-time All-Star made his first five shots beyond the arc and shot 8 of 11 overall while helping the Warriors to an early double-digit lead.
Elfrid Payton and Jeff Green scored 13 points apiece for Orlando. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in three quarters for his 34th triple-double of the NBA season as the Oklahoma City Thunder registered their fourth consecutive win with a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The league’s leading scorer moved closer to the NBA’s singleseason record for triple-doubles, 41 set by Oscar Robertson in the 1961-62 season. Oklahoma has 14 regular season games left.
Victor Oladipo added 23 points as the Thunder split the season series with the Raptors, the fourth straight year the teams have done so. —