Curry’s 35 points send Warriors past Raptors, 129-117

By SONJA CHEN
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry had 35 points and 11 assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors 129-117 on Friday night.

The high-scoring affair was close until the Warriors pulled away with a 31-point fourth quarter, securing a sweep in the season series.

“It feels like we took better care of the ball tonight,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “When Steph plays like that, the whole game opens up. The whole floor opens up.”

Klay Thompson added 29 points, knocking down six 3-pointers despite beginning the night 0 for 5 from beyond the arc. Though Thompson played in the Warriors’ 126-110 victory in Toronto on Dec. 18, the game Friday was his first time facing the Raptors at home since he tore his ACL in his left knee in the deciding Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals won by Toronto in Oakland.

Kevon Looney returned to the starting lineup and had 12 points and eight boards as six Warriors players scored in double figures.

The Warriors have won consecutive home games after dropping four straight at the Chase Center.

“We’ve been teetering on either side of .500 for a very long time. I’m kind of sick of it at this point,” Curry said. “(We’ve) got to figure out how to keep moving in the right direction and stack wins no matter how we can get ’em.”

Golden State’s bench outscored Toronto’s 39-26, highlighted by 15 points from Jonathan Kuminga. The 20-year-old missed his first three shots from deep before making four straight 3s in the final three minutes of the third quarter, giving the Warriors a 98-94 lead they did not relinquish.

“He just showed another element to his game that some might have doubted,” Thompson said. “To get on the hot streak he did was very impressive, and for that man, the sky’s the limit for his talent.”

Donte DiVincenzo had a career-high 11 assists and the Warriors outscored the Raptors by 24 points in his 33 minutes off the bench.

“We knew what we were coming up against, and we’ve had fairly good success guarding and executing, and tonight we just didn’t do it,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. “We missed a lot of communication, we just got beat physically.”

Fred VanVleet had 28 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who began their season-high, seven-game road trip 1-1. Scottie Barnes had 24 points and Pascal Siakam had 21, while Gary Trent Jr. added 17.

Precious Achiuwa contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

CURRY FINED

Curry was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Friday for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands in a moment of frustration during the Warriors’ 122-120 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday. Curry was whistled for his fifth technical foul of the season and subsequently ejected from the game.

TIP-INS

Raptors: Achiuwa’s double-double was his third in his last four games. … Entering Friday, Toronto ranked second in the league in opponent turnovers — forcing 16.8 per game — but only induced 12 Golden State turnovers. … The Raptors have gone 2-7 in the first game of back-to-backs and 3-5 in the second game this season after posting winning records in both categories in 2021-22.

Warriors: F Andrew Wiggins missed his second straight game with a non-COVID illness. … Golden State logged a season-high 40 assists. … G Jordan Poole scored a career-high 43 points on Dec. 18 vs. Toronto but was held to just nine on 4-of-8 shooting Friday. … Curry received his ninth All-Star nod Thursday and is the only player in franchise history with nine starts in the league showcase.

UP NEXT

Raptors: At Portland on Saturday.

Warriors: At Oklahoma City on Monday.

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