Curry torches Nets for 34, Warriors pull away late

[March 07, 2018]  Andre Iguodala threw down dunks on consecutive possessions to cap a 28-9 burst bridging the third and fourth quarters Tuesday night, helping the Golden State Warriors pull away from the pesky Brooklyn Nets en route to a 114-101 victory in Oakland, Calif.

The win was the Warriors' sixth in a row since the All-Star break and their 50th of the season, allowing them to reach the 50-win plateau a couple of hours after the Houston Rockets had been the first in the NBA to do it this season.

The loss was the Nets' 10th straight on the road and came on their fourth stop on a 10-day, five-game trip necessitated by the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament taking over the Barclays Center this week.

Stephen Curry had a game-high 34 points for the Warriors, who used a 25-0 flurry early in the game to build as much as a 21-point lead, only to see the Nets come all the way back.

In fact, Brooklyn led 76-73 with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter before Curry contributed a pair of 3-pointers to a 13-4 period-closing run that put Golden State on top 86-80 headed into the final 12 minutes.

The Warriors picked up in the fourth quarter right where they left off in the third, getting two hoops apiece by Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, and then Iguodala's two roof-raisers, in a 15-5 burst that finally put the defending champions in command at 101-85 with just 6:35 to go.

Curry, who twisted his troublesome right ankle in the Warriors' win Friday at Atlanta, hit 12 of his 20 shots, including six 3-pointers, in 34 minutes.

Curry had 39 points when the Warriors won 118-111 at Brooklyn in November.

Kevin Durant chipped in with 19 points, Thompson with 18 and Green with 16 for Golden State, which reached 50 wins for the fifth straight season.

 

Nets guard Caris LeVert (22) dribbles as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Green also finished with a game-high nine assists.

D'Angelo Russell had a team-high 22 points for the Nets, whose streak of 10 straight games with 12 or more 3-pointers ended on a 9-for-34 night.

Russell, who also led the Nets with eight assists, made three of his six 3-point shots.

DeMarre Carroll had 19 points, Spencer Dinwiddie 13 and Caris LeVert 10 for the Nets, who were outshot 56.6 percent to 42.4.

Carroll finished with a game-high seven rebounds.

A teeter-totter of a first half featured a 25-0 run by the Warriors, turning a 14-10 deficit into a 35-14 lead late in the first period, and a 20-2 Nets counter that got them even at 39-all midway through the second quarter.

The Nets led 53-48 at halftime, with Russell (10 points) and LeVert (10) both having already reached double figures in scoring.

--Field Level Media

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