Warriors top Pacers, move to 23-0

Well now the Warriors will be without one half of their backcourt, as Thompson will be out against the Celtics on Friday night.

Through the first three quarters on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time), when the Warriors led 111-83, Golden State made 44 of 71 field goal attempts (62 per cent). “But right now, in the regular season, it’s more important that he gets healthy”.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson was ruled out for the undefeated Warriors’ Friday night game against the Boston Celtics because of an ankle sprain he suffered in the final minute of Tuesday’s victory over the Pacers.

The defending champions have won 27 straight regular-season games dating to last spring, tying the 2012-13 Miami Heat for the second-longest streak in National Basketball Association history.

The Boston Celtics will try to hand the Golden State Warriors their first loss of the season, and their cause could be helped by a shorthanded Warriors club.

IN was led by Paul George with 33 points and C.J.

George had 18 first-half points for IN, which shot 42 percent during the opening two quarters (21 of 50).

CAVALIERS 105, TRAIL BLAZERS 100 (at Cleveland) – LeBron James had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Cleveland rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit to beat Portland. Kevin Durant got 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Russell Westbrook was one assist shy of his personal best, he had 16 assists and added 13 points and five rebounds. Through three periods, Thompson and Stephen Curry had 62 combined points.

Golden State’s superstar point guard Stephen Curry, meanwhile, finished three rebounds shy of a triple-double, ending the night with 29 points, 10 assists and seven boards, while Australian center Andrew Bogut played strong defense and chipped in offensively with 14 points. Interim head coach Luke Walton will have to dig deeper from his bench. A lot of teams, including the Pacers, are trying to take a page out of the Warriors’ small-ball playbook.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (23-0, 16-7 ATS, 14-9 O/U): Losing Thompson would mean that Golden State is without two of its top three scorers, since forward Harrison Barnes is expected to miss his seventh straight contest with an ankle injury. There were a few games that it nearly ended up costing them a win, but if they can keep up their pace late in the game, they should have no problem extending their win streak. Thompson scored eight of those points before passing the torch to Curry.