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 "I'm mad at Steph," Lee said of Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
"He stole my rebounds tonight."
In fact, Curry did a whole lot more than that. He stole rebounds
from just about everybody en route to a career-best 13 boards that
highlighted his second triple-double of the season.
"That's crazy for me," Curry gushed of the rebound total, which
topped his previous NBA career-best by two. "I've never really done
that on any level."
Curry also recorded a career-best 16 assists, which when combined
with his 14 points produced the third triple-double of his five-year
career.
"When you have guys like (Miles) Plumlee and when the Morris twins
(Markieff and Marcus) were in, me and Lee have to do a good job of
keeping them off the boards," explained Bogut, who had six rebounds,
one fewer than Lee. "A lot of times, (other guys) can sneak in there
and grab a few. He (Curry) managed to sneak in and grab (13), which
was good."
Lee's and Bogut's rebound streak was a combined feat that hadn't
been accomplished in the NBA since Rich Kelley and Truck Robinson
did it for New Orleans in 1978.
Neither came close on this night, but the Warriors all thought it
was a positive sign that the team nonetheless was able to outrebound
Phoenix 56-41.
"We know how hard they play," Curry said of the Suns, who beat
Golden State 106-102 in Phoenix on Dec. 15. "We didn't want to let
them assert themselves tonight."
Curry had six of his points and four of his assists in the final
7:29 of the first half, during which the Warriors (18-13) broke open
a tight game with a 25-8 run, creating a 59-40 halftime advantage.
Curry, who had nine rebounds and nine assists in the first half, got
his 10th assist just 70 seconds into the second half on a Lee dunk.
His 10th rebound just 42 seconds later.
"It was spectacular," Warriors coach Mark Jackson assessed of
Curry's all-around performance. "The guy's playing at an all-time
level for himself, which is saying a lot." Curry had four rebounds and two assists in the first 5:57 of
the third quarter as the Warriors extended their halftime lead
to 22 and coasted home en route to their fourth consecutive win.
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Shooting guard Klay Thompson had 21 points and Lee 17 to lead
the Warriors. Reserve forwards Harrison Barnes and Draymond
Green were fourth and fifth Warriors to produce double figures
in scoring, totaling 11 apiece and helping send Golden State off
on an 11-day, seven-game trip on a winning note.
Small forward PJ Tucker was the only player in double figures
with 11 for the Suns (17-11), who shot a season-low 36.0 percent
from the field and missed 19 of their 23 3-point attempts en
route to their lowest scoring game of the season.
The Suns shot 13-for-27 from 3-point range in beating the
Warriors 106-102 on Dec. 15 in Phoenix.
"Game 28 is the first egg we've laid this season," Suns coach
Jeff Hornacek observed. "We just couldn't get it going. It was a
total breakdown on everything."
The 29-point margin of defeat was Phoenix's biggest of the
season, surpassing a 110-91 loss at Memphis on Dec. 3. The Suns
had not trailed by more than 21 this season.
"It's good that we kind of got beat like this," admitted Suns
guard Eric Bledsoe, who battled foul trouble most of the night
and finished with just seven points. "Teams are starting to take
us seriously now. So we've just got to come into our next game
and just be focused."
The Suns, who took the court Friday having won eight of nine,
return home to host Philadelphia in the second half of a
back-to-back Saturday night.
NOTES: Warriors PG Stephen Curry, who shot just 5-for-17,
entered the game needing just two 3-pointers to pass his coach,
Mark Jackson, for 3's in a career. Following a 1-for-6 night,
they stand tied at 734. ... The Warriors are now 13-3 when they
start Curry, SG Klay Thompson, SF Andre Iguodala, PF David Lee
and C Andrew Bogut. ... The Warriors have held 13 opponents
under 40 percent shooting. Only Indiana has accomplished that
feat more often. ... Suns SF PJ Tucker had a team-high 12
rebounds to go with his 11 points, recording his second career
double-double. ... One season after finishing 22 games behind
the Warriors in the standings, the Suns remain a half-game ahead
of their Pacific Division rivals even after Friday's loss.
[© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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