NEW YORK (AP) — A much better start for Stephen Curry led to one of the best in the NBA this season for the Golden State Warriors.
Curry had 31 points and 11 rebounds, bouncing back from a scoreless first half in his last game with a double-double by the midpoint of this one, and the Warriors beat the New York Knicks 110-99 on Thursday night.
The Warriors raced to a 14-0 lead and never trailed, though they were never in control for very long. Only the Brooklyn Nets, who scored the first 16 points against the Los Angeles Clippers in an eventual loss on Jan. 21, had a more dominant start to a game this season.
Curry was 0 for 7 in the first half of a victory in Washington on Tuesday, the first time he’s been scoreless through two quarters since Nov. 23, 2012. This time he had a 3-pointer to open the scoring and had 17 points and 10 rebounds by the break, the second time in his career he’s had a double-double in the first half.
“Every night’s different, but it didn’t hurt that in the Garden I had a good vibe and a good flow going,” Curry said.
Jonathan Kuminga added 25 points for the Warriors, who extended their road winning streak to seven games, their longest since winning 11 in a row in the 2018-19 season. They won for the 10th time in 12 games overall.
Curry finished with eight 3-pointers, while Klay Thompson added 16 points. Chris Paul had 11 points and six assists in his second game back after missing 21 with a broken left hand.
“There’s nothing like getting out there and playing, especially with our team,” Paul said. “We’ve got so many different ways that we are able to play with our team and I think the spirit is right and we’ve just got to keep playing the right way.”
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points for the Knicks, who finished 4-8 in February after going 14-2 in January. But they lost starting forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby late in that month and don’t know when they’ll be back.
Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points and Josh Hart had 14 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks, who missed their first nine shots and trailed by 17 early.
Curry opened the scoring 17 seconds into the game and the Warriors led 14-0 before four minutes were gone. DiVincenzo’s layup ended New York’s 0-for-9 start, but Thompson answered with a 3 to make it 17-2.
Another basket by Curry gave the Warriors a 22-5 advantage, which the Knicks trimmed to 50-44 lead in the half before Golden State took a 55-46 lead to the break.
“They hit us hard. They got out in transition, got easy buckets and then we had to fight out of a big hole, which we ended up doing,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But first five or six minutes obviously weren’t our best, but I thought after that we did a pretty good job.”
The Warriors went back up by 17 on a 3-pointer by Curry midway through the third quarter but again the Knicks charged back, getting it down to 73-67 on a 3-pointer by Brunson with 2:39 remaining in the period.
New York was still within seven with under 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Curry made 3-pointers for Golden State’s next two baskets to push the lead back into double digits.
Anunoby could be inching closer to a return, with Thibodeau saying Thursday he was cleared to begin individual basketball activities such as dribbling and shooting, though still nothing where he would face any contact as he recovers from elbow surgery.
