Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Stephen Curry returned from a one-game absence to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 114-107 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Curry, who missed Sunday's loss at Indiana with a foot injury, returned to score 32 points with eight assists. Golden State has won five of its last six.
"It was kinda nice having Steph back. He was brilliant," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Klay Thompson chipped in with 17 points and Draymond Green had 13 points with six rebounds and five assists in the win.
Paul Pierce led the Wizards with 25 points and John Wall contributed a 16- point, 11-assist double-double. Marcin Gortat tallied 16 points with 11 rebounds for Washington, which has lost four straight games.
"We take care of the ball better, we'll get back to winning games," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.
The Warriors grabbed a 98-92 lead thanks to an 8-2 run that Thompson capped midway through the fourth. Curry later found Harrison Barnes for a dunk that made it an eight-point game with under three minutes left.
Washington cut the deficit to five a couple of occassions down the stretch, but Curry had an answer each time. Wall fouled Curry shooting a three, and the latter nailed each free throw to restore an eight-point cushion with 1:02 on the clock.
Washington jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the early going, but its sloppy play throughout the quarter allowed Golden State an advantage after a quarter of play. The Wizards committed nine turnovers in the opening frame.
Curry knocked down two 3-pointers during an 11-2 run late in the first that gave the Warriors a 30-26 lead. Wall then ended the quarter with a floater at the horn to make it a two-point deficit entering the second.
Golden State maintained its defensive prowess, forcing nine more turnovers in the second quarter. All told, the Warriors scored 19 points on 18 Washington turnovers in the first half. They led by as many as nine in the frame, but Kris Humphries beat the buzzer before halftime to cut the Wizards deficit to 54-51.
Pierce capped an 11-4 run with three free throws to give the Wizards a 73-72 lead with just over five minutes left in the third. However, Curry scored 14 in the quarter to help the visitors to an 86-83 lead entering the fourth.
Game Notes
Washington guard Bradley Beal missed his sixth straight game due to a leg injury ... The Wizards had lost seven of their last eight over the Warriors ... Garrett Temple and Kevin Seraphin each had 10 points in the loss ... OKC scored 23 points off 26 turnovers for the game ... There were nine ties and seven lead changes ... David Lee had a team-high 10 rebounds for Golden State.
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