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Klay Thompson's 27 points paces Golden State Warriors past San Antonio Spurs

By Steve Habel, The Sports Xchange
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson during practice on the day before Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8 in Cleveland, Ohio. File photo by John G. Mabanglo/EPA
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson during practice on the day before Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8 in Cleveland, Ohio. File photo by John G. Mabanglo/EPA

SAN ANTONIO -- Klay Thompson had 27 points and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range as the Golden State Warriors roared back from a 19-point first-quarter deficit and rolled past the reeling San Antonio Spurs 112-92 on Thursday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio in the first matchup of the season between last year's Western Conference finalists.

Golden State outscored the Spurs 34-23 in the third quarter to erase a five-point halftime deficit and take control of the game after a shaky beginning in both ends of the floor.

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Thompson scored seven of the Warriors' first nine points of the fourth quarter as Golden State (6-3) forged a 12-4 run to assume a 96-82 lead with 6:41 to play and held on without much pressure from San Antonio to close out the game.

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San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich wasn't around for the end of the game after being ejected with back-to-back technical fouls with 4:47 remaining.

Kevin Durant added 24 points, Stephen Curry hit for 21 and Draymond Green poured in 16 on 7 of 8 shooting for the Warriors. Both Durant and Curry pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for Golden State.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 24 points, the seventh time in eight games he's paced San Antonio. Kyle Anderson added 16 points and Pau Gasol hit for 11 as San Antonio (4-4) lost its fourth consecutive game and suffered its first defeat at home this season.

The Spurs played again without star forward Kawhi Leonard and venerable point guard Tony Parker, both of whom are recovering from quad injuries.

San Antonio Warriors coach Steve Kerr was assessed a technical foul after vehemently arguing a non-foul call with 3:45 to play in the first quarter and Golden State down 28-12. The Spurs led 33-24 after one quarter thanks to Aldridge's 11 points and a 48.1 percent-40.9 percent shooting advantage over Golden State.

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The Warriors crawled back to within 55-50 at halftime as Thompson hit for 17 points and Curry scored 15. Aldridge led the Spurs with 15 points on 4 of 13 shooting in the half.

Golden State swept to a 72-65 lead at the 6:34 mark of the third quarter by hitting nine of its first 11 shots including 3-pointers from Green, Durant and Thompson. Durant scored 15 in the quarter to push the Warriors to an 84-78 advantage heading into the fourth.

NOTES: San Antonio won 33 consecutive home games against the Warriors from the start of the 1997-98 season up until April 10, 2016, when they dropped a 92-86 decision to Golden State for their only home loss on the 2015-16 season. ... The Warriors have scored 100 or more points in all nine games this season, joining the Magic as the only NBA teams to reach the century mark in all of their games this season. ... The Spurs scored 33 points in the first quarter, a season high. ... Warriors F Klay Thompson has hit a 3-pointer in 63 straight games, passing Peja Stojakovic for the eighth-longest streak in NBA history. ... The Spurs get right back on the court as they host Charlotte on Friday while Golden State wraps up a three-game road trip with a contest at Denver on Saturday.

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