Steph Curry leads the way as Warriors beat Clips for win No. 64
OAKLAND, Calif. — When Stephen Curry pulls out his mouth guard and lets it fly in the very way he shoots from anywhere on the court, you know the MVP is really mad.
"That's kind of the impulse because I want to talk and I can't talk with a mouthpiece in," Curry said.
VIDEO: Stephen Curry on his technical: "I wanna talk and I can't talk because of the mouthpiece" ? (0:57) https://t.co/P36HzLWwoM #Warriors
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) March 24, 2016
Curry scored 33 points and drew a rare technical a few hours after coach Steve Kerr declared Golden State is all about the NBA wins record, and the Warriors stayed right on track to make more history Wednesday night with a 114-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Klay Thompson added 32 points with seven 3-pointers, Curry drew his T in the fourth — "I thought I played great defense that possession" — and Harrison Barnes had 11 points and six rebounds as Golden State (64-7) stayed one game ahead of the 1995-96 Bulls' pace in their record 72-win season.
Curry, Kerr and Draymond Green all used the word "weird" to describe this game.
"It was kind of a dead atmosphere in there and it didn't seem to have the same energy of the rivalry," Kerr said. "For whatever reason tonight didn't have the same juice."
Yet all was right afterward for the Splash Brothers, with Curry signing a pair of red sneakers for Thompson to gift to a boy with him.
The Warriors won their 51st straight regular-season home game, improving to 33-0 this season at rockin' Oracle Arena, where the fans let the rival Clippers have it at every opportunity.
DeAndre Jordan scored 19 points for the Clippers, swept by Golden State for the first time since dropping all six meetings in 1985-86.
Thompson was 7 of 10 on 3s. Curry was 4 of 10, putting him at 7 for 31 over the past three games after he was just 3 for 21 from long range in a loss Saturday at San Antonio and Monday's win at Minnesota.
Curry scored 14 first-half points. He shot right over the 6-foot-11 Jordan late in the second for a 3 and took it to Paul Pierce, too. But Jordan didn't make things easy.
"DJ can guard anybody and he proved that tonight," coach Doc Rivers said.
Green had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his 28th double-double.
Thompson's 3 with 6:18 left in the third put the Warriors ahead 71-57, then Green made it 78-66 on a three-point play at the 2:12 mark.
Andrew Bogut started and had four points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes after he had been questionable coming into the game with left foot inflammation.
Shaun Livingston added 11 points off the bench in the Warriors' sixth straight victory against the Clippers and ninth straight at home, which matched their franchise-best home winning streak against Los Angeles set from Jan. 15, 1988, to Jan. 31, 1991.
A moment of silence was held before the anthem for victims of the Brussels attack.
CHASING RECORDS
Kerr is going for it, and as long as his players are healthy they're going to be on the court.
The Warriors want the top seed out West. They absolutely want to break the Bulls' mark.
"I've maintained all along we're trying to get the 1 seed. That's a really important deal for us. We're not there yet," Kerr said, then added of besting the Bulls, "That's pretty enticing. It's the players who are setting the record. It's not the organization, so they will absolutely have some say in matters down the stretch in terms of how we approach everything."
Kerr and Michael Jordan each played 82 games during that special Chicago season, one of four straight years Kerr did so and still something he prides himself in accomplishing.
He knows it's not easy.
"Could a couple of our guys use a little mental rest and take a night off? Probably," Kerr said. "But I wouldn't do that at the expense of losing games and possibly losing the 1 seed."
TIP-INS
Clippers: Rivers expects Blake Griffin to return before the regular season ends from a broken hand the star forward suffered by punching an assistant equipment manager Jan. 23. Griffin isn't practicing yet but is running and shooting again. ... L.A.'s last win in the series was a 100-86 victory on Christmas Day 2014 at Staples Center.
Warriors: Bogut had double-digit boards for the 15th time this season. ... Livingston played in his 146th regular-season game for Golden State, his most with any of his nine NBA teams.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host Portland on Thursday.
Warriors: Host Dallas on Friday.
