Super-hot Curry carries Warriors past Wizards

WASHINGTON – Stephen Curry scored 36 of his 51 points in the first half to offset a monster offensive game from John Wall and the Golden State Warriors pulled away to beat the Washington Wizards, 134-121, Wednesday night for their eighth straight victory.

Curry made 13 of his first 14 shots and finished 19 of 28 from the field and 11 of 26 from three-point territory. His 11 trey tied a career high.

The defending-champion Warriors (45-4) continued on their run by tying the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best 49-game start in NBA history.

Along with Curry’s 51, Klay Thompson scored 24 points and Draymond Green had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Wall led the Wizards (21-26) with 10 assists and his season-best 41 points.

Curry made his first six shots from the field, including his first five three-point attempts, and finished the first quarter with 25 points on 9-for-10 shooting. The Warriors led, 43-28, after the first and let the lead slip to nine with Curry on the bench for the first portion of the second.

Back on the floor, Curry just kept scoring. His 36 points at halftime were the most of any first half in his career and broke the Verizon Center record of 34 set by Michael Jordan on Dec. 29, 2001.

Curry went 3 of 10 in the third quarter. With him actually missing shots, the Wizards cut a 14-point halftime deficit down to two at one point and three at another until Golden State went on a 10-0 run to take the game back over.

In Oklahoma, Kevin Durant hit a three-pointer with just a half-second left to lift the Thunder to a wild 117-114 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Duran’s buzzer-beater capped his 37-point outing for Oklahoma City, which has won five straight and 12 of its last 13. Durant also extended his streak of games with 20 or more points to 36, the longest run in the NBA.

In other results, Miami thwarted Dallas, 93-90; Charlotte stunned Cleveland, 106-97; Atlanta demolished Philadelphia, 124-86; Boston downed Detroit, 102-95; Indiana thumped Brooklyn, 114-100; San Antonio beat New Orleans, 110-97; and Utah outlasted Denver, 85-81.