Warriors use NBA-record first quarter to rout Nuggets
Golden State scores 51 points in opening stanza, takes over first place in the West
DENVER — Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 31 points as the Golden State Warriors, propelled by an NBA-record, 51-point first quarter, regained the top spot in the Western Conference by routing the Denver Nuggets 142-111 on Tuesday night.
Golden State cruised to a fifth straight win to move a half-game in front of the Nuggets, whose 12-game home winning streak was snapped.
The showdown between the top two teams in the conference proved a little too big for the Nuggets, with Curry and Company putting on a shooting exhibition all night long. The clinic began early with the Warriors erupting for 51 points in the opening quarter, breaking the mark of 50 held by several teams. The last time it happened was also against Denver when Phoenix scored 50 on Nov. 10, 1990.
Golden State shot a blistering 60 percent from the field, had 38 assists and hit 21 3-pointers in leading wire-to-wire. Kevin Durant finished with 27 points and Draymond Green was a plus-41 as he had 13 assists to go with four points.
76ERS 149, TIMBERWOLVES 107: In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and Philadelphia scored 83 points in the first half in a thrashing of Minnesota in Jimmy Butler’s first game against his former team.
The Golden State Warriors were the only team to score more first-half points in a game this season when they dropped 92 on the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 29. The Sixers hit a team-record 21 3-pointers and reached their highest point total in the 22-year history of the Wells Fargo Center.
Butler scored 19 points in the first meeting with Minnesota since it sent him to the 76ers.
HAWKS 142, THUNDER 126: In Atlanta, Trae Young had 24 points and 11 assists to win the showdown of past and former Atlanta point guards, leading the Hawks over Oklahoma City.
Former Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder scored 21 points in his return to Atlanta. Schroder struggled early but had 14 points in the third period when the Thunder outscored the Hawks 41-27 to reclaim the lead.
Atlanta was similarly dominant in the second period, outscoring Oklahoma City 45-30 to match its high mark for any quarter this season. After holding a big lead of 15 points, the last time at 70-55, the Hawks led 70-59 at halftime.
BUCKS 124, HEAT 86: In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, and Milwaukee cruised past Miami.
Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 16 for Milwaukee, which has won 13 of 16 dating to Dec. 14. The Bucks improved to 31-12, secondbest in the NBA.
PACERS 131, SUNS 97: In Indianapolis, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points in Indiana’s easy victory over Phoenix.
Myles Turner returned for the first time in four games to finish with 18 points and six rebounds. Turner was nursing a sore right shoulder over the last week.
Indiana limited Devin Booker to eight points in 26 minutes. LAKERS 107, BULLS 100: In Los Angeles, Lonzo Ball scored 19 points and Brandon Ingram added 16 to lead Los Angeles to a win over Chicago.
Jabari Parker scored 18 points to lead the Bulls.