WASHINGTON: Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 51 points in the first quarter and sank 11 three-pointers as the Golden State Warriors downed the Washington Wizards 134-121 for their eighth straight win on Wednesday.

Golden State (45-4) obliterated Washington early with Curry providing the firepower, including 36 points in the first half on 13-of-14 shot attempts with eight from beyond the arc.

The Warriors led by 17 points in the first quarter and 74-60 at halftime. After the Wizards closed to 81-79 midway through the third quarter, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player helped fend off Washington with a pair of three-pointers.

Fellow All-Star guard John Wall played like one, leading the Wizards (21-26) with a season-high 41 points and 10 assists but Washington has now lost two straight and seven-of-nine.

Curry finished 19-of-28 from the field, including 11-of-16 on three-pointers for his fourth career game with at least 50 points. His 51 points tied the Verizon Center record for most individual points, matching Michael Jordan and Gilbert Arenas.

His 11 three-pointers is the most in the NBA this season.

Forward Draymond Green had 12 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, setting a Warriors single-season record with his 10th triple-double. Guard Klay Thompson had 24 points.

Wall inspired a fast-break heavy comeback as Washington opened the second half with a 19-7 run but the point guard sat out the final 6:18 of the period after picking up his fourth foul.

Golden State took advantage and entered the fourth quarter leading 103-92.

With Washington still in rally range, Curry nailed his 11th and final three-pointer for a 120-109 lead with 4:22 left. Golden State made 20-of-42 from distance.

Curry made his first six shots, including five three-pointers inside the opening seven minutes before the raucous and sellout crowd.

He finished the opening period with seven three’s as the Warriors led 43-28 after the first quarter.

Washington shot 50.5 percent from the field and played better than in several recent lacklustre performances, but could not keep up with the defending league champions.

Guard Bradley Beal had 18 points.

Curry grabbed seven rebounds as Golden State out-rebounded Washington 49-38.

The Warriors won their previous seven games by an average of 21.6 points.

The teams close the season series at Golden State on March 29.




Spurs 110, Pelicans 97: LaMarcus Aldridge poured in a season-high 36 points as San Antonio outlasted New Orleans to remain unbeaten at home on Wednesday.

The Spurs improved to 27-0 at the AT&T Center this season, setting a record for the best home start ever by a Western Conference team. (Golden State is also unbeaten at home this season but has played just 22 home games.)

The victory also allowed the Spurs to extend their regular-season home victory streak to 36 games.

Kawhi Leonard added 26 points for San Antonio. Anthony Davis paced the Pelicans with 28 points.

Hornets 106, Cavaliers 97: With leading scorer Kemba Walker sidelined by a sore left knee, backup Jeremy Lin stepped up to lead Charlotte past Cleveland.

Lin finished with 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Marvin Williams added 16 points for Charlotte. Frank Kaminsky had 15 points and six rebounds, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist contributed 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 26 points. LeBron James added 23, and Kevin Love had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Hawks 124, 76ers 86: Mike Scott and Tim Hardaway Jr scored 13 points each and the Hawks led whistle to whistle.

Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroeder, Thabo Sefolosha and center Mike Muscala scored 12 points each for the Hawks, who won their second straight game and had eight players reach double figures.

The 76ers, who committed 24 turnovers, were paced by Nik Stauskas with 17 points and Isaiah Canaan with 11.

Thunder 117, Magic 114: Kevin Durant scored 37 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left, to lead Oklahoma City to victory.

Russell Westbrook was just as impressive with 24 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists. It was his eighth triple-double of the season and a career high in rebounds.

Victor Oladipo paced the Magic with 37 points and seven rebounds. Nikola Vucevic and guard Mario Hezonja each scored 16 points for Orlando.

Celtics 102, Pistons 95: The Celtics nearly blew a 24-point third-quarter lead but held on for their seventh win in the last eight games. Boston earned its sixth consecutive home win.

Isaiah Thomas led a balanced Celtics scoring attack with 17 points and added seven assists and five rebounds.

Reggie Jackson, playing with a jammed right thumb, scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and dished out seven assists for the Pistons. Detroit’s Andrew Drummond posted 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pistons, who had several players playing with injuries and lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a groin injury in the first half, dropped their third in the last four games.

Pacers 114, Nets 100: Reserve C.J. Miles scored 15 of his 27 points in the second quarter and Indiana built a big lead before halftime on the way to victory.

Miles scored at least 20 points for the ninth time this season, but it was his first 20-point showing since Dec. 23 at Sacramento.

Paul George added 17 while point guard George Hill contributed 13 for Indiana, which won for the fourth time in 11 games.

Brook Lopez scored 18 of his 21 points before halftime but missed five free throws as the Nets lost their fifth straight and 17th in the past 19 home games.

Heat 93, Mavericks 90: Hassan Whiteside had 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in limited playing time, guiding Miami past Dallas.

Whiteside missed the previous six games with a hip injury, and he was not even certain he would play until warming up before the game.

Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 28 points, drilled a deep three-pointer with 17.9 seconds left to keep Dallas alive, down 92-90. However, Raymond Felton missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Forced to foul, Dallas put Miami guard and old nemesis Dwyane Wade on the free-throw line with 15.5 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second for a 93-90 lead.

Jazz 85, Nuggets 81: Derrick Favors amassed 16 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and Utah increased its season-high winning streak to four games.

Gordon Hayward added 16 points and five assists for the Jazz. Danilo Gallinari led all scorers with 24 points for Nuggets.

Bulls 107, Kings 102: Without their leading scorer and two other key players, the Chicago Bulls were a long shot to end their struggles until they started taking one long shot after another.

The Bulls canned 11-of-21 shots from beyond the three-point arc, and guard E’Twaun Moore scored a career-high 24 points as the Bulls beat the Sacramento Kings 107-102 at Sleep Train Arena without guard Jimmy Butler.

Moore, who entered the contest averaging only 5.1 points per game this season, made four of his five shots from beyond the arc to surpass his previous career best of 19 set in March 2015. Six Bulls made at least one three-pointer.

Timberwolves 108, Clippers 102: Forward Andrew Wiggins scored 31 points, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves snap a 14-game losing streak to the Los Angeles Clippers with a 108-102 victory at Staples Center.

Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns, who went scoreless in the first half after foul trouble limited him to 11 minutes, scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter. Towns also had 12 rebounds.

Guard Zach LaVine came off the bench to score 17 points for the Timberwolves, who also snapped a five-game losing streak and a 12-game road skid. Forward Gorgui Dieng added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Point guard Chris Paul had 22 points and eight assists, guard Jamal Crawford scored 21 points, and center DeAndre Jordan collected 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers.