NBA: Stephen Curry’s eight 3s lead Warriors past Thunder

Curry equalled a season high with eight 3-pointers as the Warriors won for the third consecutive game while the Thunder lost for the third time in nine games.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) smiles as he walks off the court during a time out in the second half of the NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City. | Photo Credit: AP

Stephen Curry scored 38 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 128-120 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

Curry equalled a season high with eight 3-pointers as the Warriors won for the third consecutive game. The Thunder lost for the third time in nine games.

Golden State led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, but its lead dwindled to two in the fourth.

Jordan Poole and Curry hit 3-pointers in a three-possession span to extend the lead back out to eight with 2:35 to go, then the Warriors hit 7 of 8 at the foul line the rest of the way to maintain their lead.

Curry and Draymond Green each had 12 of Golden State’s 37 assists.

Klay Thompson added 28 points while Poole and Andrew Wiggins, who returned from a two-game absence due to non-COVID illness, scored 15 each.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting, despite going just 1-for-8 from the floor in the first quarter.

Josh Giddey added 21 points and Jalen Williams 19 for Oklahoma City.

The Warriors seized control late in the first quarter with a 19-5 run to jump ahead by 20, 38-18.

Donte DiVincenzo scored eight consecutive Golden State points during the stretch as the Warriors went 7-for-11 to close the quarter.

Golden State hit eight first-quarter 3-pointers, while the Thunder made just eight total field goals.

The Warriors led by 21 early in the third quarter before Oklahoma City began its third-quarter push with a 20-10 run, then Mike Muscala hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to nine going into the fourth.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault changed his typical rotation, keeping Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup to start the fourth.

It paid off, as Oklahoma City pulled within two with a 13-4 run early in the quarter that included a Gilgeous-Alexander pull-up 3-pointer.

Jaylin Williams’ step-back 3-pointer with just more than eight minutes left cut Golden State’s lead to 100-98. But that was as close as the Thunder could get.