Warriors overcome sluggish start for another win over Kings

SACRAMENTO - Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers and scored 30 points and the Golden State Warriors took their first lead midway through the third quarter on the way to a 117-106 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

Kevin Durant had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Klay Thompson had 18 points. With their 17th consecutive win after a loss, the Warriors reached 124 regular-season games in a row without suffering back-to-back defeats.

Draymond Green had 10 assists for his 12th game with double digits assists and third in four, while Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth consecutive game. Yet one for the highlight reel was Pachulia’s no-look, backward over-the-head pass to Curry after the big man got the ball when Durant blocked a shot by DeMarcus Cousins.

Sacramento’s Rudy Gay scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Cousins had 17.

Golden State had 30 assists for the 26th time this season and won its 13th game in a row against the Kings, seventh in a row in Sacramento.

The Warriors woke up after halftime, starting the third with a 19-7 burst and outscoring the Kings 39-22 in the period. Golden State didn’t lead until Curry’s 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the third, following Durant’s tying 3 the previous possession. Curry has at least 30 points in three consecutive games.

Gay shot 9 for 17 in his second game back after missing four games with a right hip flexor strain and 10 of 11. Cousins went 4 for 11.

The Kings had their way at the rim early, and coach Steve Kerr called timeout 18 seconds into the game after Cousins burned Pachulia for the game’s first points.

Cousins scored seven in a hurry, also getting by Durant. After a three-point play, Durant went up to dunk on Cousins, missed but was fouled - Cousins’ second - at the 5:54 mark of the first.

Golden State pulled back within eight late in the second quarter with Cousins on the bench in foul trouble and trailed 58-51 at halftime.

The Warriors went 3 for 14 from long range in the first half then started hitting.

Before the game, Kings coach Dave Joerger joked, “Ask ’em nicely if they won’t shoot so many.”

The Warriors just needed some time to warm up after choosing not to shootaround in the morning with a 6 p.m. tipoff even with it being their first visit to the new Golden 1 Center.

They didn’t relinquish this one, two days after squandering a 24-point lead in the second half of a 128-119 overtime home loss to Memphis.

Curry scored 40 points in that game and Kerr expressed disappointment with his team’s body language once the Grizzlies grabbed momentum.

BOLLYWOOD GAME

The special “Bollywood Night” game marked the first regular-season NBA game to be livestreamed on Facebook, this time only to fans in India.

There was Indian-themed entertainment and music and even a Henna tattoo station.

NOTES

Durant notched his 700th regular-season block in the second quarter and had three blocks for a third consecutive game. That matched a career-long streak also done from Nov. 25-30, 2015.

The Warriors’ winning streak against the Kings is its longest active unbeaten run against any opponent and tied for third-longest in franchise history behind a 14-gamer against Dallas from 1991-94 and 15-game winning streak from 1947-49 vs. the Providence Steamrollers.

Golden State is 7-1 vs. the Pacific Division.

San Francisco mayor Ed Lee was in attendance, while Giants CEO Larry Baer sat courtside and got a first-quarter shoutout on the enormous scoreboard.