OAKLAND, Calif. — Steve Kerr and his do-everything superstar, Stephen Curry, expected the Golden State Warriors to build on its championship run of last season.
Being 60 games over .500 at this stage? No way.
Curry knocked down six more 3-pointers to increase his record total on the way to 26 points, and Warriors beat the Washington Wizards, 102-94, on Tuesday night to stay on track for the all-time wins record.
Klay Thompson followed back-to-back 40-point games with 16 points as Golden State (67-7) stayed a game ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ pace during their 72-10 season. The Warriors matched their win total of last season and must go 6-2 over the final eight games to have the record all to themselves.
Kerr thought “maybe our record would get a little worse” as defending champs.
“I was under the same impression that our record might not be indicative of the progress we might have made over the course of the season, and not to get discouraged if we couldn’t match what we did last year knowing that the ultimate goal is to win a championship,” Curry said.
“As you go through the season and kind of get lost in the journey, we should be able to accomplish both: be a better team and better our record, which we’re on our way to doing. For us to be playing at such a high level for two straight years and have our eyes set on the ultimate goal, it’s fun.”
Draymond Green had 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to just miss back-to-back triple-doubles in the Warriors’ 54th consecutive regular-season home win and 36th this season.
Bradley Beal scored 17 points for the Wizards, who lost their fourth consecutive game to Golden State.
Curry, who scored 51 points with a career-high and franchise record-tying 11 3-pointers in the first meeting on Feb. 3, shot 9-for-20 overall and six of eight from long range. He added seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
Curry and Thompson already had the most combined 3-pointers by a pair of teammates in a season. Curry, the first player to make 300 3-pointers in a season, has eight games left to chase 400. Thompson is aiming to top Curry’s previous record of 286 3-pointers.
Washington was content to keep pace on both ends with the Warriors and took advantage of Golden State’s sloppy execution on the offensive end. Curry missed an open layup after going around Marcin Gortat and Thompson was called for traveling driving to the basket soon after with his team down by nine.
The Warriors finished the first half on a 12-0 run for a 49-46 lead at the break.
“Against a team like this that’s fighting for history, 12-0 at the end of a half when you’re up nine hurts,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.
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