Stephen Curry moves up Warriors’ scoring charts

OAKLAND, California (AP):

Golden State took another step towards securing the top seed in the West, yet coach Steve Kerr has some legitimate concerns as the Warriors close in on the postseason.

Specifically, Kerr is bothered by the Warriors’ turnovers and rebounding, two issues that cropped up again and turned what looked to be another blowout into a closer-than-needed 120-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Draymond Green understands Kerr’s reasoning but thinks that the two-time defending NBA champs will be just fine once the playoffs begin.

Stephen Curry scored 40 points to move into third place on Golden State’s career list, and the Warriors won despite Golden State’s 13 turnovers and getting outrebounded 12-4 by the Cavs on the offensive end.

“It’s just a focus thing,” Green said of the Warriors’ inconsistencies. “When you’re playing against teams that don’t quite match up talent-wise and are not really playing for anything, it’s hard to keep that focus. It hasn’t bothered me one bit because we’ve locked in at stretches, and we’ve had that focus for stretches, and that’s important.”

The game had a lot less hype than previous seasons when the Warriors and Cavaliers squared off in four straight NBA Finals. While Golden State are headed back to the postseason for a possible third consecutive championship, Cleveland are limping to the finish with hopes of getting the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

MORE POSSESSION

That’s why Kerr seemed so bothered by his team’s breakdowns.

“They had about 17 or 18 more possessions than we did,” Kerr said. “That’s kind of our specialty. We like to give other teams an advantage and then have to shoot our way out of it.”

Green had 20 points and eight rebounds, Kevin Durant added 15 points and eight assists, and Quinn Cook scored 14 to help the Warriors (55-24) inch closer to clinching the Western Conference in their second-to-last regular-season game at Oracle Arena.

With 16,283 points, Curry trails only Wilt Chamberlain (17,783) and Rick Barry (16,447) on the Warriors’ career-scoring charts.

The Warriors need one more win or a loss by Denver to secure the top spot and home court advantage in the West.

Curry is a big reason why Golden State is back on top despite a sometimes tumultuous season. The two-time MVP made 9 of 12 3s and had seven assists in the wire-to-wire win, the Warriors’ ninth consecutive over the Cavaliers.