Curry scores 21 of 24 in second half, Warriors remain unbeaten

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors found their offense in time to keep their perfect record.

Curry scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half, and the Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 103-94 on Saturday night.

Golden State (7-0) is off to its best start since moving to the West Coast. The defending NBA champions are two wins away from matching the Philadelphia Warriors' 9-0 franchise-best start in 1960-61.

The Warriors were averaging nearly 118 points coming into the night, but they were held to a season-low total. They shot 41 percent overall and missed 31 of 39 3-point attempts.

"We couldn't get our shots to go in tonight — it happens," interim coach Luke Walton said. "But we found a way to grind it out. We had some wide open looks that wouldn't go down. It was one of those random nights."

It certainly was an unusual night for Curry, who was averaging 35.5 points on 56.9 percent shooting coming into the game. He was 8 for 18 from the field, including a 2-for-10 performance from 3-point range, but managed to score some big baskets in the second half.

Curry had 11 points in the third quarter and 10 more in the fourth when the Warriors used a 16-5 run to pull away for the win.

"Never too high, never too low; that's my motto," Curry said. "I'm not expecting to shoot lights out every game."

Klay Thompson scored 18 points and Andre Iguodala had 14 for Golden State, which has won 74 of its last 89 games dating to last season. Harrison Barnes scored 13 points on 4-for-17 shooting.

Marco Bellinelli and Rudy Gay each scored 22 points for the Kings, losers of five straight. Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists for his 23rd career regular-season triple double, and Kosta Koufos finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

"Our leader was Rondo. He was first class and incredibly into the game," coach George Karl said. "His defense on Curry was first class. I just wished we had a little more gas in the tank to finish off the game."

Sacramento played without leading scorer and rebounder DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles strain) for a fourth straight game. Darren Collison was sidelined by a hamstring strain.

The Kings were 6-17 last season without Cousins, who has career averages of 18.9 points and 10.6 rebounds.

"I would love to have DeMarcus back. That's my running mate," Gay said, who shot 10 of 25 and had four of the Kings' 21 turnovers. "We need him back. That's reason why I've been playing terribly."

NO CURRY CONFRONTATION

Kings guard Seth Curry had a breakout game Friday against Houston, scoring Sacramento's first eight points of the fourth in a span of 1:12. But he also sprained his ankle and never left the bench against the Warriors.

"He has an ankle issue. He tried to give it a go before the game, but it didn't feel right," Stephen Curry said of his brother. "We get them three more times. We will get our shot."

TIP-INS

Warriors: Despite missing 14 of their first 16 shots, the Warriors still led 20-14 after one quarter. ... C Andrew Bogut missed his sixth straight game due to a concussion. He declined comment after the game when asked when he would return.

Kings: Karl started his sixth different lineup in seven games. ... Sacramento had 15 first-half turnovers that led to 19 points.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Host Detroit on Monday.

Kings: Host San Antonio on Monday.