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Warriors flex NBA muscles to destroy Spurs

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says his team looked like boys trying to play against men in the thrashing handed out by the Warriors.

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Source: AAP


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It was supposed to be a tense battle between the NBA's two best teams, but it quickly became the Stephen Curry show.

Curry had 37 points, including six three-pointers, to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 120-90 demolition of the San Antonio Spurs.

When Curry wasn't terrorising the Spurs with shots well beyond the three point line he was carving them up with his ball skills, scoring with floaters and other creative shots.

Spurs' Australian guard Patty Mills was burned by Curry several times while the NBA's reigning defensive player of the year Kawhi Leonard had no impact when he was tossed on Curry.

"That's just what Steph does," Warriors' coach Steve Kerr said.

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"He has a ridiculous shooting range and so it distorts the whole chessboard defensively.

"He's so good putting the ball on the floor and where he has really improved this year is finishing around the basket with floaters and runners."

The Spurs went into the game on a 13-game winning streak, the best defence in the NBA and were expected to challenge the defending champion Warriors even with team leader Tim Duncan sitting out with a sore right knee, but by halftime the Warriors were up by 15 points.

The Warriors were so dominant Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich sat his starters for the final quarter.

"It was like men and boys out there tonight as far as the toughness and aggressiveness in every facet of the game," Popovich said.

The Warriors have the best record in the NBA with 40 wins, four losses, while the Spurs are just behind at 38-6.

"The Spurs have been playing some great basketball, so to have this kind of performance is huge," Curry said.

Warriors' Australian centre Andrew Bogut had four points and three rebounds while Mills had little impact with three points.

The Warriors, who in the past week have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Spurs by 30 points or more, extended their regular season winning streak at Oracle Arena to 39.


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