OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry put on an offensive clinic Saturday night. The Golden State Warriors are just hoping it didn’t come at a hefty price.
Curry lit up the Wizards for 35 points before leaving with a right ankle sprain in the fourth-quarter of the Warriors’ 101-92 victory over Washington.
X-rays were negative on Curry’s ankle and his status for Monday’s home showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers was unknown. Curry departed with 6:03 left in the game after turning his ankle after being fouled hard by Cartier Martin while driving toward the hoop.
Curry was on a tear up to that point, hitting 13 of 18 shots - including 6 of 10 from 3-point range - and dishing out a game-high eight assists.
“Night in and night out, he’s the best player on the floor,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “It’s special to see, because when you play with players like that, it elevates everybody else and makes them believe we can win, because we’ve got the baddest dude on the floor.”
Curry and backcourt mate Klay Thompson (18 points) shot a combined 20 of 34 from the floor in the first game of a five-game homestand.
Washington came in riding high after a come-from-behind victory Friday night against the Lakers, but it didn’t have the firepower to hang with Warriors.
Martin led Washington with a career-high 23 points.
The game’s most intense moment came midway through the third quarter, when Wizards guard John Wall earned his second technical and was ejected after an altercation with Thompson.
“It’s a lesson,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “When you get an early technical, you can’t get into anything talking on the floor.”
The Warriors hold a one-game lead over Houston for sixth place in the Western Conference.
They opened a 58-40 halftime lead, and it would have been more lopsided if Martin didn’t hit buzzer-beating 3-pointers at the end of the first two quarters.
Golden State shot 56 percent (24 for 43) from the field in the first half.
The Wizards struggled mightily on offense in the first half, hitting just 15 of 45 shots (33 percent).
Jackson talked before the game about the importance of containing Wall, whom he called “a one-man fast break.” His team executed the plan, holding the explosive point guard to eight points and two assists in the first half.
Wall wasn’t around for much of the second half, earning his second technical foul and an automatic ejection with 6:41 left in the third.
Thompson sent him to the floor with a forearm as both players pursued a loose ball. That was shortly after Thompson fouled him hard on a layup attempt. Wall got up after the forearm and stood over Thompson, jawing at him nonstop.
The referees wound up charging both players with technicals, and Wall got an automatic ejection since he had also earned a first-quarter technical for chirping at the refs.
The Wizards were within reach at 69-57 when he left, but their chances of a comeback went with him.
“We had a chance to win this game and my actions let (the team) down,” Wall said. “. The calls weren’t going our way. (The Warriors) got a little too physical. We had some words back and forth, and I got my second technical.”
Golden State extended its lead once again as Andrew Bogut fed David Lee for a dunk, and then threw down his own slam on a long alley-oop from Curry. That made it 74-57 with 4:58 left in the quarter, and the Warriors commanded an 82-64 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Wizards wouldn’t go away, and Jackson wound up playing his starting unit longer than he probably would have liked. Even so, Warriors power forward David Lee said Golden State took care of business against a team it should have beat.
“The first game back from a road trip is always kind of a trap game,” he said.
Now the Warriors will await word on Curry.
“It was just kind of a bang-bang play,” Curry said of Martin’s foul. “I know Cartier didn’t have any malicious intent. Unfortunately, it ended that way.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.