Stephen Curry scored 40 points as the Golden State Warriors erased a 22-point deficit and capped a five-game road trip by holding on in the final minute for a 121-119 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
In front of 18,413 fans — the largest crowd in Barclays Center history –, Curry led the Warriors to their 10th win in 12 games and their second-biggest comeback this season. Nearly a month after erasing a 24-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, the Warriors overcame a deficit of at least 20 points for the third time this season.
Curry hit seven 3s much to the delight of the many fans cheering for him and his final triple was a corner 3 just before Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson could defend. Curry gave a hand gesture as if to signal “good night” after his shot staked the Warriors to a 119-109 lead with 61 seconds left.
Curry’s 3 did not clinch the win as Cameron Johnson converted a 3-point play with 47.1 seconds left to make it 119-114 following an errant inbounds pass by Jimmy Butler III. After a timeout, Curry was called for a backcourt violation with 15.2 seconds remaining and Cam Thomas made a 34-foot 3 to make it 119-117 with 10.1 remaining.
Curry made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left and the game ended when Cameron Johnson converted a putback at the buzzer.
Curry made 12-of-20 shots and notched his second 40-point game this season. Butler added 25, reserve Gary Payton II contributed 16 and Draymond Green finished with 10 assists as the Warriors outscored Brooklyn 106-84 over the final three quarters and shot 48.8 percent.
Cameron Johnson scored 26 and Thomas added 23 but the Nets dropped their sixth straight. Tyrese Martin added 17 and Keon Johnson chipped in 12 as the Nets shot 50.6 percent.
The Nets scored 17 straight points and opened a 27-5 lead on a hook shot by Nic Claxton with 4:39 left. Brooklyn held a 35-15 lead after the opening quarter, which ended with Ziaire Williams and Gary Payton II receiving technical fouls for a brief shoving match near the Nets’ basket.
Curry returned with 6:08 left in the second quarter and the guard sank three 3s in the final 2:40, including a 38-foot heave near midcourt over Ziaire Williams to cut the deficit to 60-55 by halftime.
Golden State took the lead for the first time when Butler hit a wide-open corner 3 to snap a 65-65 tie with 9:20 left. The Nets countered Curry’s 3 while falling out of bounds by taking an 83-77 lead on a drive by Martin with 3:32 left and held an 89-86 lead into the fourth.
Curry’s reverse layup around Claxton capped an 11-2 run and gave the Warriors a 101-93 lead with 6:16 left. Curry then hit another 3 and sank two free throws to give Golden State a 108-98 lead with 4:27 left.
–Field Level Media
