SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Smooth as ever starting his 14th NBA season, Stephen Curry shook Tyler Herro and made it look oh so easy.
Curry scored 10 of his 33 points in a tight fourth quarter to go with nine assists and seven rebounds, leading the Golden State Warriors past the Miami Heat 123-110 on Thursday night.
He pounded his chest with both hands and hollered in delight after a dazzling sequence in which he crossed over twice to lose Herro, then stepped back and sunk a 3-pointer with 5:32 remaining that put Golden State ahead 108-100.
“It was a great move,” teammate Draymond Green said. “He got to the spot that he wanted. Once he got Tyler to open his back leg up, he was kind of dead at that point. Steph is incredible and he’s playing great to start this year off, which is expected. He continues to improve, which is scary that that guy continues to get better. It’s pretty interesting and fun to watch.”
Curry made a driving layup at 3:15, a 3 at 2:40 and long jumper at 2:04 to seal it. He has scored 30 or more points in all four home games.
Andrew Wiggins added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, and Klay Thompson had 19 points with five 3s.
Jordan Poole drove into the paint and made a pretty pass around Bam Adebayo’s waist to hit Ty Jerome, who knocked down a 3-pointer with 9:36 left for a 100-92 lead then Poole’s jumper at the 8:07 mark made it 102-94.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Adebayo 26 and Kyle Lowry had 12 points and eight assists for Miami in the second game of a back-to-back after a 119-98 win at Portland on Wednesday.
Lowry missed a 3 from the top with 6:11 to go that would have tied it then Kevon Looney dunked moments later as the Warriors bounced back after a 134-105 thumping at Phoenix on Tuesday in which a frustrated Thompson was ejected for the first time in his career.
Two nights later, Thompson played an extended 29 minutes. Curry’s Splash Brother is still working to build up to his full minutes and had been 8 of 28 from 3-point range, missing all five of his attempts against the Suns on Tuesday before a 5-for-14 outing against the Heat.