Golden State Warriors Bounce Back From Poor Start, Beat Washington Wizards For 9th Straight Win
By Phil Watson
Jan 5, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal (3) defends in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Warriors won 112-96. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
They keep putting the “W” in Warriors.
Golden State improved to 5-0 on its current Eastern road trip and won its ninth game in a row overall, handling the Washington Wizards 112-96 at the Verizon Center in Washington on Sunday.
The Wizards broke out to a 36-28 lead after one period, but the Warriors stiffened considerably on the defensive end after that, holding Washington to just 23-for-65 shooting (35.4 percent) over the final three quarters.
The Wizards hit 14-of-21 en route to building the eight-point lead. The backcourt of Bradley Beal and John Wall did most of the early damage, combining for 16 points and seven assists in the sizzling first quarter.
Golden State came back to tie the game 58-58 at halftime and then blitzed the Wizards with a 13-0 run to start the second half. The Warriors led by as much as 25 points in the period before settling for a 92-73 lead at the quarter break.
Klay Thompson scored 26 points for Golden State (23-13), while David Lee had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Andrew Bogut also had a double-double with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, Stephen Curry had 14 points on a cold-shooting night (5-for-17) while dishing out 10 assists and committing only two turnovers and Harrison Barnes scored 13 points.
Wall had 14 points, 10 assists and three steals while Nene also scored 14 for the Wizards. Martell Webster finished with 11 points and Marcin Gortat had 10. Trevor Booker, Gortat and Jan Vesely each had six rebounds and Vesely also had three blocks.
Beal, meanwhile, was held scoreless after the first quarter, finishing with nine points.
Golden State was 43-for-85 (50.6 percent) overall, 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from long range and 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the free-throw line, while Washington was 37-for-86 (43 percent), 6-for-20 (30 percent) and 16-for-16 (like, almost 100 percent and stuff).
The Warriors out-rebounded the Wizards 45-42 and had a 10-8 edge in fast-break points. Washington had 11 second-chance points to just seven for Golden State and the teams were even in the paint, scoring 52 points apiece. The Warriors had 14 turnovers that created 18 Washington points; the Wizards turned it over 13 times for 10 points for Golden State.
The Warriors head west to face hapless Milwaukee on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. Pacific tip, then return to the East Coast to wrap up the trip in Brooklyn on Wednesday.