OAKLAND – Klay Thompson bounced back, Stephen Curry recovered and the Warriors used their shooting and stifling team defense to bury the Sacramento Kings 98-87 before a sellout crowd Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
Thompson, who followed up a 38-point opening night with only 10 in defeat Thursday against the Clippers, finished with a game-high 27 points.
Curry, whose 38-point game Thursday was stained by 11 turnovers, added 22 and 12 assists and generally reduced sloppy plays.
The shooting of the Splash Brothers pretty much silenced any provocative talk and squelched the high emotions that were so visible when the Warriors and Kings met for a preseason game 10 days ago in Sacramento. Both teams simply played basketball, with the Warriors clearly superior.
The Kings, coming off a loss to the Clippers on Friday, were led by rookie guard Ben McLemore's 19 points, with Travis Outlaw adding 15. None of the Sacramento starters reached double figures and the team shot 34.5 percent.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES: Thompson and Curry were more than ably supported by power forward David Lee, not only played defense with spirit but also finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, many in traffic.
TURNING POINT: When the Kings opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run to narrow the score to 56-44, Thompson drained back-to-back 3-pointers over a 30-second span to ignite a 15-0 Warriors response. Sacramento never got closer 16 while the game still was competitive.
INJURY UPDATE: Small forward Harrison Barnes missed his third consecutive game, still recovering from ongoing inflammation in his left foot. No timetable for his return, though coach Mark Jackson says Barnes is making progress. Barnes has not played or practiced since leaving in the first quarter of an Oct. 7 preseason win over the Kings at Oracle.
Backup center Jermaine O'Neal was a late scratch with a right foot contusion. His status is day-to-day.
NEXT UP: The Warriors are scheduled to depart Oakland International Sunday at 10 a.m. for a flight to Philadelphia, where on Monday they begin a four-game road trip by facing the fast-starting (3-0) 76ers. That game will be followed by matchups at Minnesota, San Antonio and Memphis.
