Thompson Rallies Warriors Past New-Look Nets
OAKLAND (CBS / AP) -- Klay Thompson made two 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 23 points during a pivotal run late in the third quarter and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-93 on Wednesday night.
David Lee added 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists while Stephen Curry had 25 points for Golden State.
The Warriors trailed by as much as 13 in the first half and didn't take their first lead until Carl Landry's layup with 2:42 left in the third, but outshot the Nets down the stretch and pulled away for their fourth win in five games.
It was a good night all around for Golden State and came on the heels of news that 7-foot center Andrew Bogut will return to practice Monday.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points for the Nets, who played without starting forward Gerald Wallace.
Criticized after rushing a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation in the Warriors' 105-101 overtime win against Dallas on Monday, Thompson got off to another slow start against Brooklyn before coming up big late.
The 11th overall pick in 2011, Thompson missed four of his first six shots but was almost flawless while sparking a 16-5 run at the end of the third quarter that put Golden State in front for good. He made an 18-foot jumper, followed with back-to-back 3-pointers and added a driving layup to give the Warriors a 70-65 lead.
After Reggie Evans made one of two free throw attempts for Brooklyn, Curry made a 3-pointer and was fouled by former Warriors teammate C.J. Watson with 2.5 seconds left in the quarter. Curry completed the four-point play to make it 74-66 heading into the final period.
Thompson made his third 3 of the night to push Golden State's lead to 96-84, then sealed the win with a backdoor layup with 52.7 seconds remaining.
Landry finished with 11 points and five rebounds for the Warriors, who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Nets.
Brooklyn, playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 95-90 on Tuesday, looked sluggish and tired after taking an early 39-26 lead.
The Nets shot 73.7 percent in the first quarter but went 24 of 64 (37.5 percent) the rest of the way and lost their second straight following a five-game winning streak.
Wallace was given the night off because of the back-to-back games, but it didn't seem to bother the Nets early.
Lopez got Brooklyn off to a fast start, but went to the bench midway through the first quarter after picking up his second foul.
Even without their 7-footer, the Nets seemed fine.
They shot 73.7 percent in the opening 12 minutes, had nine assists and took a 30-18 lead on a spinning layup in the lane by Deron Williams with 23.8 seconds left.
Brooklyn extended its lead to 13 in the second quarter before Golden State went on a 15-6 run to close the gap. Lee had six points while Harrison Barnes had four, including a reverse under the basket that helped pull the Warriors within 46-41 at the half.
Golden State kept chipping away at the deficit after the break and pulled even at 58-all before Thompson hit his stride.
Joe Johnson had 13 points and six assists for Brooklyn. Kris Humphries added 10 points and six rebounds.
Note: Golden State forward Brandon Rush revealed he has a torn MCL in his left knee, the same knee in which he suffered a season-ending torn ACL earlier this year. The MCL injury must heal before Rush can have ACL surgery, which means December at the earliest.
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