Stephen Curry leaves the court after the win over the Washington Wizards. | AP
WASHINGTON — Stephen Curry scored 38 points, local product Kevin Durant had 21 and the Golden State Warriors hammered the ball inside to beat the Washington Wizards 126-118 Thursday night for their season-high ninth consecutive victory.
The two-time defending NBA champions put up 70 points in the paint after shooting 1 of 6 from the outside in the first quarter. Curry was at the forefront of Golden State’s drive-the-paint strategy as he made just two of his eight 3-point attempts and was 12 of 16 inside the arc.
Durant, from nearby Suitland, Maryland, was 9 of 18 from the floor.
Center DeMarcus Cousins had 17 points in 24 minutes in his third game with the Warriors since missing almost a full year with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. Cousins was a matchup nightmare in the post against Washington, which went with a small lineup for most of the night.
Trevor Ariza led the Wizards with a season-high 27 points and Bradley Beal had 22 points as their two-game winning streak came to an end.
THUNDER 122, PELICANS 116
Russell Westbrook posted his NBA-leading 15th triple-double of the season and the Thunder beat the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans.
Westbrook finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists for the 119th triple-double of his career. The Thunder improved to 10-5 this season when he gets one.
Paul George had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its fourth straight.
The Pelicans were without star center Anthony Davis, who missed his third straight game with a left index finger sprain, and the team announced Thursday that Nikola Mirotic will be out at least a week with a right calf strain.
Jrue Holiday scored 22 points and Darius Miller matched a career high with 21 for New Orleans, which has lost four of five.