Stephen Curry gets better of Kawhi Leonard in Warriors’ blowout win

With the Golden State Warriors on a record-setting pace for wins, they came into Monday night’s matchup holding a slim two-game advantage over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs (38-6) visit the Warriors (40-4) in Oakland tonight with tip scheduled for 10:30 pm ET.

That team won 72 of 82 games, but led by reigning MVP Stephen Curry, who is having an historic year, the Warriors have a brilliant shot at breaking the mark.

Coming off his second triple-double of the season when he banked in a half-court shot Friday against in, the dynamic point guard had three steals early in the game to set the defensive tone.

After the hottest start to an National Basketball Association season in memory, the Golden State Warriors finally looked like they might have been cooling off when they suffered two losses in four games against the Denver Nuggest and Detroit Pistons.

It was the worst loss of the season for Spurs, as they committed a season-high 26 turnovers, which the Warriors turned into 32 points. San Antonio has won thirteen games in a row, while Golden State has won eight of their last ten. The Spurs seemed to have the best facsimile of a Curry stopper in Leonard, a long-armed, athletic freak who had LeBron James cursing under his breath in back-to-back Finals.

Even with that NBA-record 24-0 start, Stephen Curry and Co. can’t shake the San Antonio Spurs.

Shortly after the Spurs announced Sunday that Duncan wouldn’t play against Golden State because of right knee soreness, Kerr cracked, “Tim is 57 years old, so he deserves a night off every once in a while”.

The Spurs are led by Kawhi Leonard who was named an All-Star starter last week. Crazy Curry threes. Draymond Green two-way brilliance.

Even coach Steve Kerr was in disbelief watching his current team thoroughly dismantle his old one on both ends – not to mention his mentor and good friend, Gregg Popovich.

“We got our butts kicked, that’s for sure”, said Spurs Manu Ginobili.

“I was just trying to keep a body on LaMarcus”, Green said.

Together the Spurs and the Warriors have an 88.6 winning percentage, which sits above the Bucks and Lakers (.871, 1/9/1972) and Celtics and 76ers (.833, 1/24/1967), reports Elias Sports Bureau. “The ball really moves side to side and they use a lot of deception, so if you aren’t communicating, you are going to get beat”.

While the two teams are the gold standard of the Western Conference, with each winning championships in the past two seasons, it’s clear the Warriors are the better team.

David West (12) and Boban Marjanovic (12) topped the scoring for the Spurs.

Green had 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals in 27 minutes, and shooting guard Klay Thompson was a sixth Warrior in double figures with 11 points.