Golden State took a big step forwards in securing home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs with yet another offensive surge in the second half, keyed by a stifling defence.
More importantly, the Warriors put some more distance between themselves and a possible first-round matchup against Memphis - one of only two teams to have beaten coach Steve Kerr's squad more than once this season.
Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half and the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Grizzlies 106-94 on Sunday (Monday AEDT) for their seventh successive win.
"We just picked up our intensity," Kerr said. "Most of the second half, I thought our defence was much better. That fuelled our offence a little bit. When we can get stops and get out and run and hit a couple of three-pointers, that really gives our team a good charge."
Stephen Curry added 21 points and 11 assists, Andre Iguodala scored 20 and Draymond Green had nine points and seven rebounds as the Warriors (59-14) extended their lead to two-and-a-half games over the San Antonio Spurs in the race for the top spot in the West.
The win did more than keep Golden State in front of San Antonio. It also kicked off a stretch of five games in eight days when the Warriors will face playoff contenders Houston (twice), San Antonio and Washington.
"At this point in the season and the playoff teams that we have coming up, it gets you into that focus mode," Curry said. "It's a good warmup for us to understand how important each game is, each possession is, and not look ahead. That's playoff mentality."
Elsewhere on Sunday, Lou Williams scored 31 points while James Harden finished with 22 points and 12 assists as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 137-125 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook had 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his second successive triple-double and his 36th this season, but Harden led the Rockets to a 25-point lead through three quarters in the matchup between top MVP candidates.
In Milwaukee, Nikola Mirotic tied a season high with 28 points while Jimmy Butler had 20 points and a career-high 14 assists as the Chicago Bulls pulled away for the 109-94 win against the Bucks.
Butler broke his previous career best for assists (12) by the end of a pivotal third quarter, when Chicago stretched a one-point lead at the half to 91-79 going into the fourth.
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.
In Charlotte, Kemba Walker had 31 points and nine assists as the Hornets won 120-106 and handed Phoenix their eighth loss in a row.
In other games, Brooklyn beat Atlanta 107-91, Sacramento beat Los Angeles Clippers 98-97, Indiana beat Philadelphia 107-94, New Orleans beat Denver 115-90, Boston beat Miami 112-108 and Portland beat Los Angeles Lakers 97-81.
Share
