OAKLAND – With a national TV audience looking on Wednesday night, Stephen Curry lit up the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry scored a season-high 51 points to lift the Warriors to a 128-114 win over the Mavericks before another sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.
Curry shot 16-of-26 from the floor, including 10-of-16 from 3-point range. He scored 36 points in the second half, 26 in the third quarter. It was his second career 50-point game, his first at home.
Four other Warriors scored in double figures, as Klay Thompson finished with 18, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa each totaled 14 and Harrison Barnes added 12.
The Warriors (39-8) shot 52.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded Dallas 46-42. After the Mavs (33-18) opened with a torrid first quarter, the Warriors held them to 33.3 percent shooting the rest of the game.
The Warriors, with their third consecutive win, boosted their home record to 23-2.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
It's exceedingly rare that someone goes for 51 and is not the player of the game. Curry is not the exception. He earned it.
The point guard lit up the Mavericks with an electrifying performance in the third quarter, scoring 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a preposterous 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. He made shots off the dribble, on the drive and catch-and-shoot.
The Mavericks tried three different defenders. They tried double-teams. Nothing worked. It was 12 minutes during which Curry couldn't be guarded by Michael Jordan at his peak.
TURNING POINT
Actually, there were two. There was the one that put the Warriors back into the game, and the one that dictated the victory.
Down 47-27 with 11:10 left in the second quarter, the Warriors went on a 17-2 run to erase the 20-point deficit and push the score to 49-44. The reserves, hustling and defending, did most of the damage.
The Warriors opened the third quarter with an 18-8 run, taking a 76-70 lead they never lost.
They finished the Mavs with a 10-1 scoring burst over the final three minutes.
INJURY REPORT
The Warriors listed no injuries prior to the game.
INACTIVES
C Ognjen Kuzmic (on assignment with D-League Santa Cruz) and F James Michael McAdoo.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Warriors on Thursday leave for Atlanta, where on Friday night they face the Hawks, who lead the Eastern Conference.
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