OKLAHOMA – Golden State Warriors cruised to its ninth straight win in the 2021-2022 NBA season by defeating Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-98, on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Klay Thompson spearheaded the offense with 21 points, including three outside hits. Stephen Curry fell short of a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Warriors (41-13).
Rookie Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 16 markers. Andrew Wiggins added 15 points, while Jordan Poole ended up with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors.
Down 20-23 after the first 12 minutes, the Warriors went to work in the second quarter behind consecutive shots from Poole to seize a 56-46 halftime advantage.
Golden State widened the lead further in the second half with contributions from Thompson, Curry and Wiggins as the lead reached its largest at 99-85 on a basket by Moses Moody.
Luguentz Dort tallied 26 points, Darius Bazley added 20 markers as rookie Josh Giddey ended up with 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Thunder dropped to 17-36.
Meanwhile, Miami Heat solidified its hold of top spot in the Eastern Conference following a 121-100 beating of Washington Wizards at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
Bam Adebayo scored 21 points, with 14 coming in the third quarter, while Jimmy Butler added 19 markers as the Heat moved up to 35-20 win-loss slate.
Phoenix Suns survived a late rally by Chicago Bulls to pull off a 127-124 victory and stay on top of the Western Conference with its 43-10 win-loss slate. The Bulls drop to 33-21.
Devin Booker spearheaded the offense for the Suns with 38 points, including five three-point conversions, while Chris Paul had double-double 19 points and 11 assists.
BOX SCORE:
GOLDEN STATE 110 — Thompson 21, Curry 18, Kuminga 16, Wiggins 15, Poole 11, Looney 8, Lee 6, Payton 5, Moody 5, Iguodala 3, Porter 2, Toscano-Anderson 0.
OKLAHOMA CITY 98 — Dort 26, Bazley 20, Giddey 16, Williams 12, Mann 11, Diakite 6, Favors 4, Jerome 3, Maledon 0.
Quarterscores: 20-23, 56-46, 85-72, 110-98./PN
