Warriors rout Spurs as Raptors, Sixers pick up wins

THE Golden State Warriors fired a warning to their rivals as the NBA playoffs got under way yesterday, 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 game-high 27 points on 11of-13 shooting, including 5of-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.

In yesterday’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.

At Philadelphia, the 76ers overcame a spirited first half display from Miami before stamping their class on their series opener with a devastating second half display.

Australian-born rookie Ben Simmons finished with 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds while J.J. Redick led the scoring with 28 points.

Miami led 60-56 at halftime but were unable to respond to a second-half onslaught from the in-form 76ers, who have now won 17 games straight.

The Sixers outscored the Heat 74-43 in the second half, making full use of an offensive line-up that saw five players finish with double-figures. At Toronto, the Raptors snapped a streak of losses in all nine prior playoff openers in club history.

“It’s big for us. We got the job done,” said Raptors star Kyle Lowry. The Raptors struggled into the fourth quarter against a Wizards squad that had the most losses of any playoff team and split four regular-season games against Toronto.

In the late Western Conference game, Anthony Davis scored 35 points to lead New Orleans to a series-opening win over the Trail Blazers in Portland.