OAKLAND, Calif. (Sporting Alert, Box Score | Photo Gallery) — Stephen Curry scored 36 of his 51 points in the second half to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 128-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Video Highlights of Curry Scoring 51 points for Warriors v Mavericks
In fact, Curry, who buried 10-of-16 from three-point range and 16-of-26 from the field overall, scored 26 of his total points in the third quarter, as Golden State (39-8) rallied from an early 22-point deficit to secure victory in the Western Conference showdown.
“If I had any kind of daylight off the pick-and-roll, I was going to shoot it,” Curry told reporters after the win. “I had a good feel and a good rhythm.”
Winning head coach Steve Kerr was full of praise for Curry, who was scoring a season-high points and netting the second highest points scored in any quarter this term.
His 26 points in the 3rd quarter was also a career-high for the All-Star point guard in any quarter.
“Sometimes Steph plays his best when we’re down big and he just senses that he has to put the Superman cape on,” Kerr said.
“And he’s so good at it. He loves the freedom of being down and saying, ‘All right. I’m going to let it fly and bring us back.’ And that’s what he did.”
Klay Thompson added 18 points and five assists, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa each finished with 14 points, while Harrison Barnes collected 12 points and six rebounds in the win for the Warriors, who trailed 42-25 after the first quarter.
Chandler Parsons paced the Dallas Mavericks (33-18) with 24 points, and Tyson Chandler collected 21 points and 17 rebounds in the defeat.
Dirk Nowitzki was held to just 4-of-15 from the floor for 15 points, Monta Ellis scored 14 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and seven rebounds for the visitors in Oakland.
J.J. Barea ended with 10 points, five assists and four boards for the Mavericks, who were without Rajon Rondo for the third game in a row. The star point guard remains out indefinitely with a broken orbital bone in his left eye and a fractured nose.
Golden State, which sealed its third successive win on Wednesday night, shot 52 percent on 45-of-86 shooting from the field, as well as going 19-of-38 from behind the arc for 50-percent.
Dallas’ quick start saw them rushing off to a stunning 24-4 lead to take control of the game with 5:13 left in the first quarter before Curry got going.
Up next for the Mavericks is a trip to Sacramento to take on the Kings on Thursday, while the Warriors are at Atlanta on Friday.
Results from Wednesday, February 4
Indiana 114, Detroit 109
Atlanta 105, Washington 96
Boston 104, Denver 100
Brooklyn 109, Toronto 93
Houston 101, Chicago 90
Milwaukee 113, LA Lakers 105 (OT)
Minnesota 102, Miami 101
Oklahoma City 102, New Orleans 91
San Antonio 110, Orlando 103
Memphis 100, Utah 90
Golden State 128, Dallas 114
