OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 31 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just over a minute to go that led the defending champion Golden State Warriors to their fifth straight win to open the season, 112-108 over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Harrison Barnes added 17 points and sparked the big run that helped Golden State overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off perhaps its most hated rival.
Chris Paul scored 24 points and Blake Griffin added 23 for the Clippers, who also had won their first four games of the season to give extra meaning to this early season matchup.
An offseason war of words that has been waged between Clippers coach Doc Rivers and several Warriors about what role luck played in their championship last season only added to the drama.
The Warriors faced their biggest deficit of the season when they trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter before rallying behind their small-ball lineup.