LDN - Sports

Curry sinks record 13 3-pointers as Warriors top Pelicans

[November 08, 2016] OAKLAND, Calif. -- After plunging to one of the low points of his NBA career Friday night, Stephen Curry vented some frustration over the weekend.

On himself.

Curry responded to his first game without a 3-pointer in almost two years and two subsequent high-intensity workouts by sinking an NBA-record 13 from beyond the arc during a 46-point performance Monday night, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 116-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

"That was quite a show. Not all that surprising," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He's done it throughout his career where he comes right back off of a bad game and lights it up. It didn't surprise me."

Curry, who misfired on all 10 of his 3-point attempts Friday in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, broke open a close game late an 11th, 12th and record-setting 13th treys on consecutive possessions that turned a five-point game into a 109-97 advantage with just 2:23 to play.

"I was hard on myself the last few days in practice and I had some pretty good shooting sessions," said Curry, whose 0-fer against the Lakers snapped a string of having made at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-record 157 straight games. "I had another level of focus the last few days just trying to get a rhythm back and to see the ball go in.

"Thankfully, it translated to some success tonight."

The record-breaking 3-pointer capped a 13-for-17 night from beyond the arc and eclipsed the mark of 12 that he shared with Kobe Bryant (2003) and later matched by Donyell Marshall (2005). Curry hit 12 3-pointers in a win at Oklahoma City on Feb. 27, 2016.

"The flow of the game was kind of close, and I think I made one or two tough ones," Curry said of his 11th and record-tying 12th 3-pointers Monday. "The last one was more of a heat check to see if it'd go in. Thankfully it did."

The 40-plus-point effort was the 23rd of Curry's career.

Curry had three of his threes in a 27-5 second-quarter burst that allowed Golden State to seemingly take command after it trailed 35-34 five minutes into the period.

The Warriors went up by as many as 21 and led by 14 at the half, but the final 24 minutes became more than just a record chase.

New Orleans (0-7) rallied into 73-72 lead in the eighth minute of the third quarter thanks to a 24-9 surge to open the second half. Anthony Davis had nine points in the flurry.

However, Curry buried his ninth and 10th treys of the night before quarter's end, helping the Warriors regain an 84-78 advantage.

And even though the Pelicans got as close as two early in the final period, Golden State edged away with the aid of Draymond Green, who completed a 12-rebound, 11-assist double-double. He scored four points.

"I think Draymond is having a phenomenal start to the season," Kerr said. "I hope people aren't looking at his point total and saying he's not playing as well as he did last year. He's playing every bit as well as he has played the last couple years. The box score is just going to look a little different."

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the basketball against New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 116-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Klay Thompson finished with 24 points on 11-for-20 shooting, and Kevin Durant added 22 points for the Warriors, who improved to 5-2 with their second win of the season over the Pelicans.

Durant's 20-point game was his 71st straight, allowing him to tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history.

Golden State continued a trend in which it has won every game when shooting well from behind the 3-point arc.

The Warriors went 16-for-35 (45.7 percent) from long distance, improving to 5-0 in games in which they made at least 32 percent of their 3-pointers.

They haven't had as much as 22 percent accuracy on threes in either of their two losses.

"Pulling up from 40 feet, I don't know how you defend that," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said of Curry. "Steph made some incredibly tough shots. I thought that if he would have had an average game, we would have had an opportunity to win."

Davis led the Pelicans with 33 points and 13 rebounds, hitting 11 of his 18 shots and 10 of his 13 free throws.

Guards E'Twaun Moore (15 points) and Tim Frazier (13) also scored in double figures for New Orleans, which lost despite shooting 48.8 percent from the field.

"I thought we played hard and competed at a high level," Gentry said. "It's tough to win in this building, but there's no quit in these guys."

The Warriors made half of their 90 field-goal attempts.

NOTES: Warriors PG Stephen Curry now made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game seven times in his career. No other player has reached double figures more than three times. ... Curry's 46 points were the most scored in the NBA this season. ... The Warriors' 16 3-pointers were a season high. ... The Pelicans signed SG Archie Goodwin on Monday to fill the roster opening created when they waived SG Lance Stephenson, but he didn't play against Golden State. ... The game was played on the 70th anniversary of the first contest in Warriors franchise history -- an 81-75 victory by the Philadelphia Warriors over the Pittsburgh Ironmen.

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