Warriors, Curry give Kerr big win over Pacers
OAKLAND, California – Stephen Curry banked in a shot from midcourt with a hand in his face at the halftime buzzer and finished with 39 points to help coach Steve Kerr win his season debut in the Golden State Warriors’ 122-110 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
Kerr returned from a leave of absence dating to Oct. 1 for complications following two back surgeries, and defending champion Golden State delivered for him by winning its 38th straight home game at Oracle Arena to match the 1985-86 Celtics for third-longest home winning streak all-time. The Warriors are 20-0 at home this season.
Curry added 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and seventh of his career. He also became the first player in NBA history to make 200 3-pointers in four straight seasons.
Myles Turner scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Pacers.
In Los Angeles, Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 20 points, Kawhi Leonard added 18 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-95, for their 13th consecutive victory.
Kobe Bryant scored five points on the 10th anniversary of his 81-point game against Toronto, still the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history.
While the Lakers honored Bryant during the game with highlights of his 2006 effort, Ginobili was the one putting on a throwback performance. The Argentine veteran, who is nearly 13 months older than the 37-year-old Bryant, went 9 for 10 with four rebounds and four assists while the Spurs rolled to their 20th win in 21 games overall.
D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points for the Lakers, who have lost five straight and nine of 10.
In other NBA games, it was the Raptors over the Heat, 101-81; Hornets over Magic, 120-116 in OT; Jazz over Nets, 108-86; Celtics over Bulls, 110-101; Clippers over Knicks, 116-88; Rockets over Bucks, 102-98; and Thunder over Mavericks, 109-106.