NBA
Warriors are best in the West
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Golden State Warriors clinched the Western Conference’s top seed with a victory in their final regular-season contest at the Oracle Arena, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 131-104 on Sunday.
Stephen Curry led the charge with 27 points and Kevin Durant added 16 as the Warriors won their fifth straight game.
They wore throwback ‘‘We Believe’’ jerseys in a move designed to honor the past at Oracle, which has been their home venue for 47 years.
The team is moving across the bay from Oakland to a facility in San Francisco where they will play next season.
‘‘Let me just say that for 47 years, Warriors fans have stuck with us through thick and thin,’’ Kerr told the crowd moments after the final buzzer. ‘‘Let’s be honest, most of those years have been a little thin.’’
The win gives them home field advantage throughout the West playoffs.
The Warriors’ first-round opponent, which will be the eighth seed in the West, is yet to be determined.
There is a chance it could be the Clippers when the playoffs begin next Saturday. They are battling Oklahoma City (47-33) and San Antonio (47-34) – both won on Sunday – for the sixth, seventh and eighth playoff spots in the West.
Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets continued their three-point assault on the NBA as they drained a record 27 from beyond the arc in a 149113 win over the Phoenix Suns.
The Rockets broke their own league singlegame record with the help of 30 points from James Harden.
It came just five days after they tied the mark, initially set against the Los Angeles Lakers in January, with 26 against the Sacramento Kings. They now have four of the top 10 three-point games.