Curry inspires Warriors to win against Spurs in NBA
Los Angeles, Jan. 26: Stephen Curry scored 37 points as the Golden State Warriors thrashed the San Antonio Spurs 120-90 in the first meeting between the two top NBA teams this season.
The reigning most valuable player Curry drained five three-pointers as the defending champion Warriors shot 11-for-26 from beyond the arc.
“This was a team we hadn’t played yet and the Spurs have been playing some great, great basketball so to have this kind of performance is huge,” said Curry.
He played 28 minutes and didn’t set foot on the court in the fourth quarter, with Golden State in complete control.
Golden State’s 39th straight home victory earned them a three-game lead over San Antonio in their duel for top seeding in the Western playoffs.
The Warriors and Spurs are considered the two top heavyweights, and each team knows it must go through the other to win the title. “We got our butts kicked, that’s for sure,” said Spurs Manu Ginobili.
Golden State is chasing the Chicago Bulls’ NBA record -- set between March 1995 and April 1996 -- of 44 straight regular-season home wins.
The Warriors are the third team in history to win 39 straight at home.
The loss snapped a 13game winning streak for the Spurs. They played without star forward Tim Duncan, who was resting an ailing right knee.
It was the worst loss for San Antonio since a 137-97 rout at the hands of Portland in February 2012.
Guard Troy Daniels hit his eighth three-pointer of the game with nine seconds remaining in the second overtime, lifting the Charlotte Hornets to a 129128 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
— AFP