By Matthew T.F. Harrington
The Golden State Warriors beat the Indiana Pacers 117-102 at Oracle Arena Wednesday night, extending their home winning streak to 13 games. Klay Thompson came a point shy of matching his career-high of 41 points to lead the team atop the NBA standings to the second-longest lossless stretch at home since the Warriors (28-5) won 15-straight at home in 1989-90.
Thompson went 14 of 25 from the field, including six three-pointers, over his 40 minutes of the play. The NBA All-Star hopeful also went six-for-six from the free throw line and pitched in two assists and four rebounds.
Splash Brother Stephen Curry played the perfect sidekick, collecting a double-double on 21 points and 15 assists. Center Andrew Bogut returned after missing 12 games, playing 14 minutes off the bench, but his replacement in the starting five Marreese Speights proved adequate, chipping in 18 points. Draymond Green matched Indiana’s Lavoy Allen for the game-high in rebounds with 9 each.
Despite being a game and half out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers (14-23) gave the Warriors the early test. They had the home team down by as much as 11 points in the first half, but the Warriors found a way to tie the game at 50-all at the half. A 34-26 Warriors run in the third Quarter gave the Dubs a cozy 8-point lead, while a 33-26 fourth quarter helped ice the win for Golden State.
The Warriors could be primed for home win no. 14 when they next take the court. Golden State welcomes the LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers to Oracle Arena Friday night, with newly acquired Timofey Mozgov expected to make his Cavs debut after coming over from the Denver Nuggets for a pair of first-round picks Wednesday.
Notes: Klay Thompson’s 40-point game was his second of his career. He also scored 41 points against the Lakers on November 1st of this season …Stephen Curry hit his 1,000 career three-pointer. His 369 games are the fewest played to reach that milestone…Indiana center Roy Hibbert left Wednesday’s game with an injury after only five minutes of play….Wednesday Night was Asian Heritage night at Oracle Arena. Fans with special event tickets received an Asian Hertiage night t-shirt while everyone in attendance was entertained by an on-court performance presented by the Thai Cultural Council of Berkeley and Fremont.
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