Rampaging Warriors cool down Suns to return to winning ways

[December 17, 2015]  (The Sports Xchange) - Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green combined to make eight consecutive shots during a three-minute flurry late in the second quarter to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 128-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Thompson finished with a season-high 43 points as the Warriors, playing for the first time since their 24-game season-opening winning streak was snapped, ran their home record to 11-0 this campaign with a 29th consecutive win at Oracle Arena dating back to last season.

The win was Golden State's eighth straight at home over the Suns, who were playing for the third time in four nights. The Warriors, meanwhile, enjoyed the previous three days off.

Perhaps showing the rust of the relatively long layoff following a seven-game trip, the Warriors (25-1) trailed 42-38 in the eighth minute of the second quarter before exploding past the Suns (11-16) over the course of the next 17 minutes.

The runaway began with the eight straight hoops late in the second quarter that produced a 21-4 burst and turned the four-point deficit into a 59-46 lead with 1:41 left in the half.

Curry and Thompson each hit a pair of threes, and Green dropped in a fifth during the run. Curry also had a pair of two-pointers, giving him 10 of the Warriors' 21 points.

The lead reached 40 points before the end of the third quarter, with Thompson pouring in 27 of his 43 in the period on 9-for-11 shooting.

The win was the Warriors' third of the season by 25 or more points.

Thompson, whose previous season-best was 39 at Indiana last week, hit 15-of-22 shots, including eight three-pointers.

It was just his second game since spraining his right ankle late in the win over the Pacers. He totaled just 12 points when the Warriors lost 108-95 at Milwaukee on Saturday to end their record winning streak.

Curry had 25 points and seven assists in just 30 minutes. He connected on 10-of-14 shots and two of his five three-pointers on a night when the Warriors shot 52.3 percent overall and 46.9 percent from three-point range.

Green managed his fourth triple-double of the season in 31 minutes, putting up 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with five steals and a blocked shot.

Backup forwards Mirza Teletovic and T.J. Warren had 24 and 19 points respectively, and point guard Brandon Knight added 17 for the Suns, who have lost three of four.

Phoenix shot 45.1 percent overall but just 22.7 percent on three-pointers, missing 17-of-22.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

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