Klay Thompson outscored Jordan Poole in a bench duel of former teammates, Chris Paul made a triumphant return from a 21-game absence and the Golden State Warriors beat the host Washington Wizards 123-112 on Tuesday night.
On a night when Andrew Wiggins wasn’t available for personal reasons and Stephen Curry made just 4 of 16 3-pointers, the Warriors rode Thompson’s hot hand and a 63-36 advantage in points from beyond the arc to a ninth win in 11 games.
Thompson was the most productive of Golden State’s long-range shooters, burying 6 of 11 triples en route to a team-high 25 points in 27 minutes. The Warriors made 21 of 46 threes as a team.
Poole, meanwhile, went just 2-for-8 from deep and 5-for-17 overall en route to 12 points against the team that traded him as part of a package for Paul this past offseason.
Paul put in 22 minutes in his first game action since breaking his left hand against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 5. He found time for nine points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals in running up a plus-17 point differential while he was on the floor.
Jonathan Kuminga made 10 of his 13 shots overall on a 21-point night for the Warriors, who shot 50 percent from the field. Curry finished with 18 points, Gary Payton II had 13 and Moses Moody chipped in 12, while Draymond Green notched team highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (eight) to go along with six points.
The Warriors led just 60-58 at halftime before Thompson paced a third-quarter frenzy with four 3-pointers and a technical-foul free throw that came after a frustrated Poole was penalized for complaining about a palming violation. Golden State outscored Washington 38-17 in the period.
The Warriors took a 98-75 lead into the fourth and cruised from there.
Washington’s Kyle Kuzma was the game’s top scorer with 27 points as part of a double-double that also included a game-high 12 rebounds, while Tyus Jones supplied a career-high 17 assists to complement 14 points.
Corey Kispert and Marvin Bagley III added 20 points apiece and Landry Shamet posted 16 for Washington, which lost its 12th game in a row.
–Field Level Media
