Warriors rip Hawks; Heat cool off Blazers
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors whipped perfect passes through the lane that led to pretty shots and plenty of high-flying dunks.
Once unselfish Golden State got it going on both ends, the Hawks had a hard time keeping up in a matchup of the NBA’s top two teams.
Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, Andre Iguodala added 21 points and six assists, and the Warriors cruised past Atlanta 114-95 on Wednesday night to maintain the league’s best record.
“We obviously wanted to beat them tonight because they gave us a whooping in Atlanta,” Stephen Curry said. “It was a fun night.”
Curry had 16 points and 12 assists, Draymond Green contributed 18 points and Andrew Bogut grabbed 14 rebounds as balanced Golden State maintained the best record in the league (54-13) with its 10th straight win at home.
The Hawks, looking fatigued and trailing big by the fourth quarter, were denied again in a chance to clinch their first division title since the 1993-94 sea- son as Washington won at Utah.
Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll each scored 16 points and Carroll had 12 boards for cold-shooting Atlanta (5315), which had won 10 of 12 and three in a row but shot 35.6 percent from the floor.
The game had a playoff-like atmosphere and was billed by some as a potential NBA Finals matchup, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr won’t go there. It’s way too soon.
The Warriors certainly look ready for a long postseason run, showing off snazzy passing while winning their third straight and 10th in 12 games, in front of a rocking sellout crowd of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.
“What I take away from it is the number of players who made an impact,” Kerr said.
Two days after Golden State clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season, the Warriors scored 44 baskets on 39 assists. It was the 25th time this season Golden State had 30 or more assists.
Both teams played short-handed. The Warriors were without All-Star guard Klay Thompson, who sprained his right ankle Monday against the Lakers and will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days.
HEAT 108, TRAIL BLAZERS 104
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper with 13.6 seconds left to break a tie and help Miami beat Portland.
Wade made 13 of 26 shots for the Heat, who were down 11 shortly after halftime. Luol Deng had 24 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range for Miami, which got 20 points and 11 assists from Goran Dragic and a 12point, 10-rebound night from Hassan Whiteside.