Los Angeles, United States (AFP)
Stephen Curry scored 25 points and the Golden State Warriors parlayed a hot start into a comfortable 137-114 NBA win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
Curry added 11 rebounds and eight assists and Draymond Green posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 assists as the reigning NBA champions put together three straight victories for the first time this season.
It was just their second away victory of the campaign and moved them to 11-10, the first time in a month they have been above .500.
The Warriors, seemingly determined to turn around their dismal fortunes on the road, exploded out of the gate, engineering a 17-0 scoring run on the way to 47 first-quarter points and a 20-point lead after the first period.
They were up by 20 going into the fourth although the Timberwolves, led by 26 points from Anthony Edwards with 21 from Karl-Anthony Towns, cut that by half with 5:31 remaining.
Golden State responded, Curry draining a three-pointer before Klay Thompson delivered a trey, a steal and another three-pointer to pus the lead back to 19.
Six Warriors players finished in double figures, Thompson posting 21 and Jordan Poole adding 24 off the bench.
The Warriors will try to build more momentum on the road when they travel to Dallas for a Western Conference finals rematch on Tuesday.
“These are a good couple of games for us against good teams, playoff teams,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the challenge.
Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Nets, led by 31 points from superstar Kevin Durant and 29 off the bench from Seth Curry, pulled away late for a 111-97 home victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Seth Curry hit seven of 10 from three-point range and scored the Nets first eight points of the final period and his three-pointer with 6:45 remaining pushed the Nets lead to nine points.
Brooklyn held the Blazers to 17 points in the fourth quarter and forced 13 turnovers.
Ben Simmons had three steals and Nic Claxton had two and a blocked shot as the Nets defense finally made the difference in a game that featured 16 lead changes.
“We kept using the word ‘aggressive,'” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “In any sort of timeout or gathering together, we were using the world ‘aggressive.’ We want to be the aggressors on every possession.”
Jerami Grant led the Blazers with 29 points, stepping up again as Damian Lillard remained sidelined with a calf strain.
© Agence France-Presse