Curry Scores 29 pts, Warriors Rout Spurs 136-100 For 2-0 Series Lead

OAKLAND, Calif., Sporting Alert — Stephen Curry had a game-high 29 points and four Golden State starters scored in double figures in the Warriors’ run-away 136-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

The All-Star point guard who shot 8-of-13 from the field, buried six 3-pointers and scored 15 of his total points in a 33-16 first-quarter breakaway, as Golden State took full advantage of the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

Curry also collected seven rebounds and seven assists in the comfortable victory as the Western Conference No. 1 seeded side took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Golden State reserve guard Patrick McCaw added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three 3-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 16 points.

Draymond Green had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Warriors, who got a season-best 63 points from the bench.

“They came out with a sense of urgency from the beginning and they played that way for 48 minutes,” acting Warriors head coach Mike Brown told reporters.

Klay Thompson finished with 11 points, but was 4-of-10 from shooting with six rebounds, while Shaun Livingston and Ian Clark each had 10 points for Golden State to secure its 10th consecutive playoffs win this season.

“That’s just been the message all year, just play with urgency and start the game off with some energy and throw the first punch,” Durant said.

“Unlike Game 1 we did that tonight. We know they’re a little undermanned but they still play extremely hard, so we knew we couldn’t come out here and relax and think they were just going to give us the game. We had to go take it.”

Meanwhile, Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, led the Spurs with 22 points and shot 8-of-17 from the floor.

San Antonio, which never led in the game, trailed by as many as 41 points and was outperformed 46-44 in points in the paint and 20-13 fast break points.

The visitors shot 37-percent, well below the Warriors’ 56.2 percent, while making just 8 of their 23 shots from 3-pointers compared to Golden State’s 18-for-37 from long distance.

The defeat on Tuesday night saw the Spurs going behind 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time since being swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western semifinals in 2010 and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warns that the series could be over if the men from Texas doesn’t get it together.

A disappointed Popovich deems that as a group, his players never believed they could have won the game.

“I don’t think we believed,” the veteran coach said. “I’m disappointed.

“The only way I can process this is I think it’s not about the O’s and X’s or rebounds or turnovers or anything like that.

“You have to believe. I don’t think as a group they really did, which means probably a little bit feeling sorry for themselves psychologically.

“It showed in the lack of edge, intensity … That was disappointing.”

Davis Bertans finished with 13 points for the Spurs in the defeat.

Game 3 is on Saturday in San Antonio.