Warriors at Nets
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are taking turns dominating games, and the Golden State Warriors are looking very much like a team ready to win another NBA championship. The Warriors will try to ride their two MVPs to a fourth consecutive win when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Curry exploded for 51 points and 11 3-pointers in three quarters during a 144-122 pasting of the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and Durant decided it was his turn on Friday, when he scored 25 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter to spark a 128-100 win over the New York Knicks. "You know when you catch every green light when you're trying to get somewhere?" Durant told reporters of his fourth-quarter outburst. "That's exactly what it feels like." The Nets don't have the type of superstar scoring punch that Golden State boasts and are still figuring out how to win tight games after dropping a 117-115 decision at New Orleans on Friday to cap a 1-2 road trip. "It's a shame," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "We played a heck of a game. We didn’t close it out. We’ll learn from this."
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (5-1): Curry is averaging 33.7 points on 55.1 percent shooting (52.7 percent from 3-point range) while Durant is at 29.7 points on 55.6 percent shooting and a team-best 8.2 rebounds. "To see them both in a groove like this so early in the season has been amazing to watch," forward Kevon Looney told reporters. "They can’t keep bailing us out with these terrific performances to win games. But as long as they keep doing it, we’ll keep enjoying it." Curry made at least five 3-pointers in each of the first six games while Durant enjoyed his best night from beyond the arc on Friday, making 5-of-9.
ABOUT THE NETS (2-3): Brooklyn squandered a five-point lead in the final two minutes at New Orleans and lost the advantage for good when D'Angelo Russell's pass was intercepted with 7.5 seconds left and turned into a basket at the other end. "It was all my fault," Russell told reporters. "We focused for 47 minutes and 36 seconds. In the other 24, I wasn’t focused. I’ve got to be better." The late turnover marred what had been the best game of the young season for Russell, who scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors SG Klay Thompson is 4-of-31 from 3-point range.
2. Nets PF Kenneth Faried (illness) sat out Friday and is day-to-day.
3. Golden State took the last six in the series and earned a 118-111 win at Brooklyn last season behind 39 points from Curry.