LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Klay Thompson scored 27 points as the Golden State Warriors recovered from an early mauling to score a 112-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
A stormy encounter between the two Western Conference big guns saw Warriors coach Steve Kerr lose his cool on the sidelines before Spurs counterpart Gregg Popovich was ejected late in the game.
Popovich was tossed in the fourth quarter after picking up a second technical foul following an altercation with a member of the officiating crew.
Courtside microphones picked up Popovich swearing at the referee before he was given his marching orders.
Kerr also risked ejection in the first quarter, and needed to be held back by assistant Mike Brown after he was handed a technical foul.
The tirade by the Warriors coach came as the Spurs jumped out to a 28-12 first quarter lead.
The reigning NBA Finals champions gradually began chipping away at the deficit and had closed the gap to 34-24 by the end of the first quarter.
Thompson’s 27-point haul led the scoring for the Warriors, with three rebounds and two assists.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry also weighed in with 20-point hauls as the Warriors improved to 6-3 and climbed to third in the Western Conference.
Durant scored 24 points with eight rebounds while Curry had 21 points. Draymond Green also cracked double digits with 16 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the scoring for San Antonio with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Kyle Anderson added 16 points.
Spanish veteran Pau Gasol was the only other Spurs player to reach double figures, with 11 points. The defeat saw San Antonio fall to 10th with a 4-4 record.
© Agence France-Presse