NBA: Warriors blow out Nuggets to extend home dominance
OAKLAND, United States – The NBA-leading Golden State Warriors equaled a club record Monday with their 16th straight home win, a crushing 122-79 triumph over Denver.
Klay Thompson led five Warriors players in double figures with 22. Stephen Curry added 20 points and eight assists for the Warriors while Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa each contributed 12 points and James Michael McAdoo had 11 in the rout.
McAdoo’s performance came on the same day that he signed a 10-day contract after getting called up from the NBA Development League.
The Warriors, who improved to 33-6, matched the franchise record for successive home wins, set by the then-Philadelphia Warriors in 1959.
They have scored at least 100 points in 11 straight games and are the only team in the NBA to win more than one game by 40-or-more points this season.
Monday’s win topped their 126-86 victory over Philadelphia on December 30 for the largest margin of victory in the league this season.
Ty Lawson netted 19 points and six rebounds for the Nuggets, who had 14 points and five assists from Jameer Nelson.
But the Nuggets barely made a dent in the Warriors.
Curry scored nine points in the first quarter and Golden State led 25-15, then wrapped up the game by outscoring Denver 30-13 in the second quarter to take a 27-point halftime lead.
Nelson hit a triple to begin the third quarter but the Nuggets didn’t score again until a Lawson basket with 5:31 left in the period.
In between, the Warriors reeled off 15 straight points.
The Warriors weren’t the only lopsided winners, as the NBA celebrated the Martin Luther King jnr holiday with a 12-game slate weighted with day games.
In Washington, the Wizards defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 111-76. The Wizards led the final 42 minutes of the contest and were up by double digits over the final 38 1/2 minutes.
Marcin Gortat paced Washington with 20 points, one of seven Wizards players in double figures.
The Charlotte Hornets rode a dominant second quarter to a 105-80 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Hornets connected on 12 of 22 from three-point range to notch their seventh win in eight games.
Gerald Henderson and P.J. Hairston each hit three from long range, Henderson leading the Hornets with 17 points.
Brian Roberts added 16 points and five assists for Charlotte, and the Hornets’ reserves outscored Minnesota’s by a 52-31 margin.
