Curry, Warriors stay hot in blowout win over Heat

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are out to prove the doubters wrong after its 0-3 start.

Stephen Curry scored 29 points and had four assists as the Warriors cooled off the Miami Heat in a 120-100 victory on Thursday evening at Chase Center.

Golden State (6-3) has won a season best six games in a row after its dreadful start to the season. They are currently 4-0 on its current six-game homestand. The Heat have lost two out of its last three games, after having a nightmarish start of their own when they opened up the season with four straight losses.

The Heat (3-6) were a preseason favorite to contend in the Eastern Conference after acquiring center Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks this past offseason. The "Greek Freak" was supposed to solidify a lineup that consisted of players like Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins and many predicted Miami to be one of the teams to beat.

It hasn't been the case for Miami as the team has yet to find its chemistry after nine games as they have struggled with poor shooting and turnovers to start the season under 18th year head coach Eric Spoelstra.

For the Warriors it's been a complete 180 as the team has upped its defensive presence and have received contributions from rookie sensation Yaxel Lendeborg and a retooled bench that is young and full of energy.

Miami's defense was strong out of the gate as they started the game 9-2 and were up 14-4 after the first three minutes of the game. Miami held Golden State to just two of seven shooting from the floor while they began the game six of eight. Miami had leads of seven mutliple times in the first quarter. However three pointers from Curry and Lendeborg kept the Warriors in the game. The Heat ended the opening 12 minutes with a 29-26 lead.

Curry had trouble getting going as he started the game shooting 1-for-8 from the floor as Miami's swarming defense kept him from finding any space or room to manuever and operate. Curry had just seven points at halftime as Lendeborg led the Warriors in scoring with nine points.

“One of the things that makes him (Curry) so good and so special is his ability to bounce back within a game where he’s struggling," said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. "It doesn’t bother him at all. He knows how to get himself going. He’s got the ultimate confidence, and it was just a matter of time for him after that slow start.”

It was a sloppy played first half with a combined 20 turnovers as the teams were deadlocked at 53 after 24 minutes. Adebayo had 12 points while Antetokounmpo led the team with 14 after two quarters. Ryan Conwell chipped in with three three-pointers.

Then whatever was said at halftime in the Warriors locker room, worked. They came out like a team possessed. The Warriors scored the first five points of the third quarter, only to have the Heat go on an 8-0 run right after that.

Curry stayed patient and eventually found his room to cook as the chef scored 14 of his game leading 29 points in the third quarter. Curry helped spark a 17-3 run that crescendoed with an Al Horford three pointer to give the Warriors a 75-64 lead with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter. It was their first double-digit lead of the game and one they never relinquished as they headed into the fourth quarter with its biggest lead of the game to that point 91-76.

“I think you start to get a feel for the game and the idea of understanding where your spots are going to be" Curry said. "And we all know I love the endurance of being able to kind of withstand pressure for the whole game and knowing I’ll hopefully eventually find my way. Miami has a great defense. They have a lot of length. Davion (Mitchell) is a monster on the ball and you kind of have to feel it out as you go, so just staying patient with it.”  

Golden State's bench played a big part both offensively and defensively as Antetokounmpo only scored six points in the second half with just one shot attempt in the fourth quarter. Adebayo also had a quiet second half with just six points to finish with 18. A combination of Draymond Green, Lendeborg, Geroges Niang and Charles Bassey kept Miami's big dynamic duo at bay.

Niang talked about how connected everyone on the team is with each other, especially the players coming off of the bench.

“I think everyone is just very connected, or nobody really cares who scores, who plays, minutes, Niang said. "Everyone’s excited to get in there and shine when they have their opportunities, and guys that aren't playing are happy for the guys that are out there. This is professional sports, it's not like it’s equal opportunity for everyone. So, the fact that everyone is happy for everyone else, you got to cherish those moments because it’s not like that everywhere. I've been places where guys get in and it’s like ‘oh look at him, he’s missing shots’, and it’s not like that at all. I think that starts at the top. Obviously, Steph (Curry) is probably one of the best guys you'll ever meet and when you have a guy like that that’s selfless and all about the team everyone else just seems to fall in line. Like I said, we're just very connected. It’s something you can't really explain but all of us feel it.”

Bassey was one of the unsung heroes of the game as he led the team with three block shots (which led to fast break points the other way) with seven rebounds to go along with eight points inside the paint offensively. Niang chipped in 13 points including two clutch three-pointers. Backup point guard Brandon Williams displayed flashes of his speed and had 10 points as the Warriors bench outscored the Heat's 53-27.

Golden State put the game away with a 10-4 run to go up 18 points with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter squashing any comeback attempt by Miami.

Curry shot 50% from beyond the arc, going 6-of-12 as well as a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Lendeborg had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as he continues to prove the Warriors got a steal when they drafted him 11th overall of the 2026 NBA Draft. Green led all players with 11 assists, many of those with backdoor passes to the basket finding open teammates for easy layups or dunks.

Mitchell tried to singlehandely keep his team in the game as he scored 16 of his team high 22 points in the fourth quarter after being nonexistent for the first three quarters. It was not enough to keep the red-hot Warriors from winning its sixth straight game. Former Splash Brother Klay Thompson chipped in 11 points with 3-for-10 from beyond the arc while Wiggins had just two points.

Curry mentioned how Kerr gave the team a bit of pep up speech after its third loss to the Phoenix Suns when they team felt real low starting out with three straight losses.

“It was in Phoenix. I think it’s where (Draymond Green) was talking about, after that game I know a lot of guys didn’t play, but he just mentioned sticking with the process and the things that he noticed on film and just the feel in games. Like, we were really close to being able to put together, you know, winning performances and the Memphis game, again besides the last four minutes, the way that those guys played in Phoenix and then how we’ve been playing since, it’s just small building blocks of an identity of how this team is supposed to compete and I think the biggest part is he’s just proud of how hard we were playing and everyone is taking on that challenge as well when they come to the game," Curry reiterated.

Golden State continues its six-game homestand on Saturday November 6th when its host the Orlando Magic at 5:30pm at Chase Center.