SAN FRANCISCO - Steph Curry opened Thursday night with a familiar move and an unfamiliar result.
He shook Klay Thompson on a sharp cut midway through the first quarter, using the same kind of action the two used to burn defenses for more than a decade. The finish, though, was off. Curry missed the layup against the teammate he spent 11 years alongside, one of eight first-half misses in another sluggish start.
The slow beginning didn’t last.
Curry caught fire in the third quarter, just as he had in Denver in late October and against Phoenix on Monday, and the Warriors pulled away for a 120-100 win over the Heat at Chase Center. He scored 14 of his 29 points in the third, finished in only 28 minutes, and helped Golden State solve Miami’s zone defense on the way to its sixth straight victory.
The night also carried a milestone. Curry passed Oscar Robertson for 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list when he knocked down a 3-pointer for his 16,711th point.
Even with Curry shooting just 2-of-10 in the first half, the game was tied 53-53 at the break because Golden State got scoring from all over the floor. The bench delivered 51 points, with Gary Payton adding nine and Georges Niang scoring 10. Will Richard chipped in 10 in a surprise start, Brandin Podziemski posted nine points and six rebounds, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg added 17.
The Heat got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 18 points and 10 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, while Andrew Wiggins struggled to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Golden State, now 6-3, has one day off before facing the Magic on Saturday.
Thompson’s return to Chase Center brought its own buzz.
Before the game, Steve Kerr said it was strange to see Thompson and Wiggins in different uniforms, but that’s the reality for most players in the league. Still, the crowd gave Thompson a loud welcome during introductions, and he looked like the same shot-maker who once buried an NBA-record 14 3-pointers in a Warriors uniform.
He had just come off a 30-point night and game-winner against the Clippers on Wednesday, another strong outing in a recent run of big scoring games.
“He’s shooting the ball well right now, and the last few games, they bring him off screens, you know, just like we did,” Kerr said pregame.
Against Golden State, Thompson didn’t get to those same heights, finishing with 11 points.
Draymond Green and Al Horford also did their part against Miami’s top-end talent.
Neither big man moves like he did in his 20s, but both gave the Warriors useful minutes against Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. Green, coming off Monday’s ejection against Phoenix after throwing Khaman Maluach to the floor and grabbing Dillon Brooks, responded with 11 assists and five rebounds. His best pass was a full-court dime to Curry for a layup, and he spent much of the night meeting Antetokounmpo in the paint.
Horford added eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes, highlighted by a reverse putback layup from the 40-year-old in the third quarter.
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Jokics situation in Denver is worth watching because extension talks have been delayed, leaving open the possibility of free agency down the line. For the Warriors, the appeal is obvious: a player of that caliber would instantly change the ceiling around Stephen Curry and give the franchise a very different path back into title contention, even as the front office weighs how realistic it is to land a star of that magnitude. [Read more 🡒]