Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors avoids Aaron Wiggins #21 of the Oklahoma City Thunder while attempting a three-point basket during the third quarter at Paycom Center on January 30, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ian Maule/Getty Images/AFP
Stephen Curry scored 38 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 128-120 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Curry equaled a season-high with eight 3-pointers as the Warriors won for the third consecutive game. The Thunder lost for the third time in nine games.
Golden State led by as many as 21 in the third quarter, but their lead dwindled to two in the fourth.
Jordan Poole and Curry hit 3-pointers in a three-possession span to extend the lead back out to eight with 2:35 to go, then the Warriors hit 7 of 8 free throws the rest of the way to maintain their lead.
Curry and Draymond Green each had 12 of Golden State’s with 37 assists.
Steph in the Warriors W:
38 PTS
8 REB
12 AST
8 Threes pic.twitter.com/mJce2hiK1L— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2023
Klay Thompson added 28 points while Poole and Andrew Wiggins, who returned from a two-game absence due to non-COVID illness, scored 15 each.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting, despite going just 1-for-8 from the floor in the first quarter.
Josh Giddey added 21 points and Jalen Williams 19 for Oklahoma City.
The Warriors seized control late in the first quarter with a 19-5 run to jump ahead by 20, 38-18.
Donte DiVincenzo scored eight consecutive Golden State points during the stretch as the Warriors went 7-for-11 to close the quarter.
Golden State hit eight first-quarter 3-pointers, while the Thunder made just eight total field goals.
The Warriors led by 21 early in the third quarter before Oklahoma City began its third-quarter push with a 20-10 run, then Mike Muscala hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to nine going into the fourth.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault changed his typical rotation, keeping Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup to start the fourth.
It paid off, as Oklahoma City pulled within two with a 13-4 run early in the quarter that included a Gilgeous-Alexander pull-up 3-pointer.
Jaylin Williams’ step-back 3-pointer with just more than eight minutes left cut Golden State’s lead to 100-98. But that was as close as the Thunder could get.