OAKLAND, Calif. — Point guard Stephen Curry’s seventh 3-pointer of the game with 1:08 remaining produced the 17th and final lead change of the night, and the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers 112-108 Wednesday night in a battle of the Western Conference’s last two unbeaten teams.
The reigning NBA Player of the Week scored 13 consecutive Warriors points, including his straightaway 3-pointer that turned a one-point Golden State deficit into a 108-106 lead.
Curry and backcourt mate Klay Thompson added two late free throws apiece as the Warriors (5-0) recorded their eighth consecutive home win over their Southern California rivals. Golden State had won its first four games by a record total of 100 points.
Curry finished with a game-high 31 points, a majority of which came on his 7-for-11 accuracy from 3-point range.
Small forward Harrison Barnes added 17 points and Thompson 16 for the Warriors, who placed all five starters in double figures.
Point guard Chris Paul had 24 points and nine assists for the Clippers (4-1), and power forward Blake Griffin contributed 23 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
Playing just their second road game of the season, the Clippers trailed by as many as 17 in the first half before rallying into a 97-87 lead on a follow shot by super-sub guard Jamal Crawford with 7:56 to play.
Barnes then caught fire for the Warriors, dropping in four consecutive hoops, including back-to-back threes, in a personal 10-1 run that closed the gap to 98-97.
Curry’s sixth 3-pointer helped the Warriors go up by as much as 103-99, but Griffin and Paul countered with hoops that produced a 103-all tie with 3:28 left.
The Clippers took a brief 106-105 lead on a free throw by center DeAndre Jordan (11 points, 13 rebounds) with 1:17 to go, before Curry’s seventh 3-pointer with 1:08 to go put Golden State ahead for good.
Curry got nailed with consecutive fouls just six seconds apart in the third minute of the game and was summoned to the bench, where he sat the rest of the quarter as the clubs battled through 11 lead changes.
He returned well rested for the second period, during which he poured in 13 points, nine coming on 3-pointers.
Two of the 3-pointers, along with three free throws that resulted from being fouled on a shot from beyond the arc, came during a 15-2 flurry that opened a 46-29 lead a little more than four minutes into the period.
However, the Clippers chipped away at the lead for the next 14 minutes, first closing within 63-56 by halftime, then grabbing their first lead since the first period at 79-77 on a jumper by Crawford with 1:57 left in the third period.
Griffin had eight points in the third quarter, which ended with Los Angeles clinging to an 83-82 advantage.
NOTES: Warriors C Andrew Bogut (concussion) missed his fourth consecutive game. He has yet to be cleared even to practice with the team, interim coach Luke Walton disclosed before the game. … Warriors PG Stephen Curry equaled SF Dennis Scott’s 78-game streak with at least one 3-pointer, the fourth-longest run in NBA history. … Praising Curry earlier in the evening, Clippers coach Doc Rivers admitted: “I was hoping he’d be on a championship celebration all summer, and he’s been working on his game. That’s too bad for all of us.” … With 13 rebounds Wednesday, Clippers C DeAndre Jordan (4,711) topped PF Elton Brand’s franchise record for career boards by one. … The Clippers’ 4-0 run to start the season came against teams that were 5-3 when not playing Los Angeles. The Warriors’ opponents were just 4-5 in their other games entering play Wednesday.