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 One day later, Curry made them pay.
Curry scored a season-high 40 points Tuesday night to lead the
Golden State Warriors to a 114-97 victory over Miami at
AmericanAirlines Arena.
"I got some nice shots in here yesterday filming a commercial for
our Christmas game," said Curry, the Warriors' star point guard. "I
shot about 100 3s for the camera. That might have helped."
It was Curry's fourth 30-plus-point game this season. His eight
3-pointers -- out of 11 attempted -- represented a season high. He
also had a game-high seven assists and three steals.
Then again, Curry made eight three-pointers at AmericanAirlines
Arena last season as well, scoring 36 points in a 123-114 Warriors
win.
"There are certain arenas where you see the rim better," Curry said.
"This arena has a nice feel to it, and the weather is nice so that
might inspire some good play."
 The Heat was inspired early, putting up its highest scoring quarter
of the season in the first, leading 36-30. Miami point guard Mario
Chalmers had 13 points, which was his best quarter of the season.
But Chalmers scored only one more point for the rest of the game,
and the Heat, which led by as many as 16 points in the second
quarter, crumbled late.
Golden State, which also got 24 points from shooting guard Klay
Thompson, rallied to trail by just one point at halftime.
Miami led 95-93 with 7:25 left in the game, but that's when the
Warriors went on a 14-0 run to end the Heat's chances.
Thompson had six points and Curry five during that 14-0 run.
"We were in a position to work the last five or six minutes of the
game, grind it and have a chance to win in the end," Heat coach Erik
Spoelstra said. "But we just couldn't sustain it.
"They played their best basketball in the fourth quarter, and we got
caught in some tough possessions."
The Warriors' starting backcourt of Curry and Thompson combined for
64 points on 22 of 38 shooting, including 11 of 18 on 3-pointers.
Miami's starting backcourt of Chalmers and Norris Cole combined for
18 points on 5 of 25 shooting, including 2 of 10 on 3-pointers.
There were some extenuating circumstances to the comparison 00 Heat
starting shooting guard Dwyane Wade is out due to an injured
hamstring, and Cole played his first game since dislocating his left
middle finger last week.
 Spoelstra said Cole's finger was not a factor, and Chalmers,
Spoelstra and just about everybody else credited Curry for his
outstanding performance.
"Curry's an excellent shooter," Chalmers said. "We didn't keep a
body on him enough. We started off doing a pretty good job, but he
got free in the second half."
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By quarters, Curry was pretty consistent, scoring eight, 10, 12 and
10 points, respectively.
"There's probably only two or three guys who can shoot those kind of
3s off the dribble," Spoelstra said. "That's the fastest release
I've ever seen."
The Warriors won their sixth consecutive game and are 11-2 overall
-- just a half-game behind the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies
for the best record in the NBA.
At 6-1, the Warriors tied the Houston Rockets for the best road
record in the league.
The Heat (8-7) continued their struggles at home, where they are
just 4-5 (44.4 winning percentage). They were 32-9 at home last
season (78 percent).
Miami, which got 26 points and nine rebounds from forward Chris
Bosh, is also 2-3 against the Western Conference, losing to the
Warriors, Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers -- all at home.
As a team, Golden State shot 57.3 percent from the floor and 46.4
percent on 3-pointers (13 of 28).
"That's winning pretty," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose team
also won the rebound battle 45-40. "It was a terrific effort by all
our guys.
"As a broadcaster, (Curry) is fun to watch. As a coach, it's 'Yes!
He's on our team!' I wouldn't trade him for any point guard in the
league."
NOTES: Miami waived SG Shannon Brown, who had started the previous
two Heat games, both victories. In his place, Miami signed 7-foot,
260-pound C Hassan Whiteside, who averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds
and five blocks in his past three games in the D League. Whiteside,
25, was the Sacramento Kings' second-round pick in 2010. ... Miami
is still without C Chris "Birdman" Andersen (ankle). ... Warriors
starting F David Lee (hamstring injury) has played just seven
minutes this season. ... Warriors C Andrew Bogut (right orbital
contusion) returned to the starting lineup after playing just eight
minutes on Sunday. ... Warriors G Leandro Barbosa (sprained knee)
played four minutes off the bench after getting hurt on Sunday. ...
The Warriors' five-game road trip continues Wednesday at the Orlando
Magic. ... Miami gets a bit of a Thanksgiving break and won't play
again until Sunday at the New York Knicks.
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