Stephen Curry reaches 5,000 assists, Warriors beat Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Stephen Curry scored 27 points and became the first player in Warriors franchise history to reach 5,000 assists, helping Golden State improve to 3-0 with a 119-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
Curry had 10 assists and seven rebounds. The two-time MVP had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of the Warriors' first two games.
'œYou want to win games early, you want to get off to a good start but we know we have a lot of things that we can sharpen up like every team in the league,'ť Curry said. 'œI really feel like we have that capability to take productive strides every game. We've won three different games three different ways but it's still about building confidence early in the year.'ť
Jordan Poole added 22 points, and Draymond Green had 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Harrison Barnes scored 24 points for the Kings, and Richaun Holmes had 16 points and 11 rebounds. They are 1-2.
'œWe made too many mistakes tonight,'ť Kings coach Luke Walton said. 'œWe need to be better in the fourth quarter. Part of the problem is we're slowing the pace down. We have to get out and go.'ť
Playing in front of a Golden 1 Center crowd heavily mixed with Golden State fans, the Warriors came out cold and were shooting less than 36% midway through the second quarter before turning it around in the second half.
Golden State closed the third quarter on a 7-2 run, then pulled away for good early in the fourth. Otto Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer put the Warriors ahead, and Andrew Wiggins followed with one from the perimeter to make it 100-96.
'œThis was our best game of the three so far,'ť Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. 'œ We were rock solid with the ball. We had multiple guys come in off the bench and play well.'ť
Kerr pointed out the Warriors advantage in turnovers - the Warriors had just six compared to 19 for the Kings.
'œThat was the difference in the game,'ť Kerr said. 'œWe got all those extra possessions and we didn't put ourselves in jeopardy in transition.'ť
Buddy Hield made consecutive 3s for Sacramento to cut it to 107-104, but Poole made two free throws and Green scored down low.
'œWe have to finish games,'ť Kings first-round pick Davion Mitchell said. 'œThroughout the game we have leads, they go on their run and we have a lot of turnovers.'ť
CURRY IS 1 AND 2
Curry owns the two longest streaks in NBA history for consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer. Curry missed his first two attempts against the Kings before making one in the first quarter, extending his current streak to 128 games. He set the record of 157 from November 2014 to November 2016.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Andre Iguodala was held out with a sore left hip. '¦ First-round pick Jonathan Kuminga has been cleared to take part in full team practices. Kuminga, who has been out since straining his right patella tendon in a preseason game Oct. 6, will be reevaluated on Friday before the team decides what his next step will be.
Kings: Haliburton had eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds. '¦ Moe Harkless started and scored eight points in 23 minutes after sitting out Friday night in a loss to Utah because of a sore left hip.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
Kings: At Phoenix on Wednesday night.
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