Oakland, CA – Stephen Curry was unstoppable as he led the Golden State Warriors to a 116-106 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena.
Curry finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Golden State, which took over sole control of sixth place in the Western Conference standings. The Warriors hold a one-game lead over Houston as they get set to conclude their regular season at Portland on Wednesday. The Rockets own the tiebreaker.
Curry went 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the contest. The Davidson product needs just two more makes from 3-point range to break Ray Allen's NBA record of 269 made 3-pointers set in the 2005-06 season.
Klay Thompson added 23 points for Golden State, which received a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds from David Lee. Festus Ezeli pulled down a career-best 13 boards to go along with three blocks.
"We didn't play our best game tonight but we made plays when we had to in the fourth quarter," Lee said. "Once again, really proud of our guys for finding our way tonight. We've got one more game and then we get ready for the playoffs."
Gary Neal paced San Antonio with 25 points. Patty Mills chipped in a season- high 23 points and Matt Bonner had 13. The Spurs, who are locked into the second seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs, were without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard for the contest.
"It's actually fun to watch," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Curry's performance. "Everybody hates losing, but I enjoyed...watching a talented kid perform the way he did, and he does it with class."
With the usual go-to-guys out of action, Neal stepped up right away with 11 first quarter points for the Spurs. Curry scored nine in the opening 12 minutes for Golden State before Neal hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer to give San Antonio a 28-27 lead at the conclusion of the quarter.
The Warriors shot 52.2 percent from the floor and limited San Antonio to 48 percent field goal efficiency in the second period, but Mills, Neal and Bonner connected on one 3-point attempt each to help San Antonio take a 57-54 lead into the intermission. Golden State held a 24-18 advantage in the rebounding battle at halftime, but still trailed due to a 2-of-9 performance from beyond the arc.
Curry located his shooting touch in the third quarter, as he knocked down three from behind the 3-point line. Golden State took an 82-79 lead into the fourth frame after San Antonio cooled off to go 10-of-25 from the field, including an 0-of-5 mark on 3-point tries.
Golden State used a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter to create some separation on the scoreboard, as the Warriors converted 68.4 percent of their field goal attempts in the final 12 minutes of regular season basketball at Oracle Arena.
Game Notes
The Warriors held a 53-39 advantage in rebounds ... Golden State outscored the Spurs, 15-8, at the free throw line ... Carl Landry scored 16 points off the bench for the hosts ... Cory Joseph scored 10 points and set career-highs with eight assists and six rebounds for the Spurs.
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