Curry, Thompson, Warriors bury Orlando

The noon tipoff was more than a little challenging for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. At first, anyway.

Tied at halftime, the Warriors woke up. Curry and Klay Thompson each finished with seven 3-pointers and the Warriors won their seventh consecutive game, beating the Orlando Magic, 118-98, Sunday at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. This was the first Eastern time zone noon tip for the Warriors since 1995, when they lost by 34 points in Orlando.

“It just challenges you mentally,” Curry said of the early start. “We were talking about it in the locker room before the game. It is early, but it doesn’t matter what time the game is, we have go out and get a win.”

Curry had 14 points as the Warriors outscored Orlando, 42-24, in the third quarter. He didn’t play in the fourth. Curry went 7 for 13 on 3s and scored 27 points while Thompson as 7 for 9 from behind the arc and had 21 points. The Warriors shot 19 of 42 overall from 3-point range while the Magic went 7 for 28.

After trailing by 11 in the first half and committing 12 turnovers, the Warriors went into the break even at 50-50.

“Third quarter was great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It seems to be the time when we pick up our defense and it translates into some transition hoops and 3pointers.”

Kevin Durant added 15 points for the Warriors, Zaza Pachulia had 14 and JaVale McGee added 13.

Elfrid Payton led Orlando with 23 points.

Other games

Mavericks 122, Lakers 73: Justin Anderson scored 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 13 to help host Dallas rout Los Angeles. It was the Mavericks’ 13th consecutive win over the Lakers, who have lost six of their past seven games. It was their worst loss in team history.

Suns 115, Raptors 103: Eric Bledsoe scored a career-high 40 points and had 13 assists and visiting Phoenix handed Toronto its third consecutive loss.

Timberwolves 111, Nuggets 108: Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points in host Minnesota’s victory.