Oakland, CA – Stephen Curry posted 29 points and eight assists in his return to the lineup to pace the Golden State Warriors to their fourth straight win, a 113-93 decision over the Phoenix Suns.
Harrison Barnes chipped in 21 points and eight boards, while David Lee filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 boards and seven assists. Klay Thompson scored 17, as the Warriors rallied from a four-point halftime deficit and held a 65-41 scoring advantage over the final 24 minutes.
The Warriors, who moved 13 games over .500, shared the ball well with a season-high 34 assists.
Michael Beasley had 24 points and Jared Dudley finished with 16 for the Suns, losers in four of their last five games. Luis Scola ended with nine points and 14 rebounds.
Curry, who missed the previous two games with a sore ankle, had 19 of his points in the second half.
"He came back tonight and played the way Steph is capable of playing. He really led us in the second half. We had to click it there," Lee said.
The Warriors were behind 58-48 following a three-point play from Goran Dragic early in the second half, but then came the big momentum swing.
Golden State scored the next 13 points, with Curry finally moving the Warriors in front on a three-point play with 7 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
Phoenix went back in front, 62-61, on two Dudley free throws, but Golden State answered with a 17-6 burst. Curry hit a pair of 3-pointers during the surge.
"They're a good team. We just have to try to maintain a level to match that," Suns coach Lindsey Hunter said of the Warriors. "Eventually we'll get there. I'm not really worried about it. We're going to keep fighting and keep working to get better."
Curry nailed a step-back 3-ball to start the fourth quarter, and the Warriors led by double digits the rest of the way.
It was a struggle at the start, though, for the hosts. The Warriors fell behind by as many as seven in the opening quarter and were down by nine in the second before closing the gap by halftime.
"We didn't play our brand of basketball," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "They made it tough in the first half, they were prepared."
Game Notes
Golden State has won four straight against the Suns ... Phoenix has lost just one season series to the Warriors since 1995-96 and that came last year in the shortened campaign. The Suns are already down 0-2 in the 2012-13 season. The Warriors, who posted an 87-85 win at Phoenix on Oct. 31, will host the Suns on Feb. 20 and the final encounter will take place in Arizona on April 5 .. This is the earliest the Warriors have reached 30 wins since the 1975-76 season ... Barnes tied his career-high in points.
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