Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant sits on the floor after being fouledMark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
The Golden State Warriors got off to such a fast start, they gave Kobe Bryant no other choice but to keep shooting the ball to keep the Los Angeles Lakers within striking distance.
Stephen Curry had 30 points and 15 assists, Marreese Speights added 24 points, and the Warriors cruised to a 136-115 victory Sunday night despite 44 points by the 36-year-old Bryant.
"I think that just says that he's still Kobe and he can get 44. As long as it doesn't hurt us too much and the game's going our way, then we're going to play him straight up," coach Steve Kerr said. "Kobe's Kobe, and he's always going to score – no matter how old he is. I'm sure it's tough on him, but he's such a competitor."
Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacific Division-leading Warriors, who are off to an 8-2 start in Kerr's first season. Klay Thompson, who had 41 points in a win against the Lakers on Nov. 1, finished with 18 in the rematch.
"They came out and knocked down shots and put us in a hole pretty quick," Bryant said. "We're not getting back in transition and giving up a lot of points. We've got to give ourselves an opportunity to play half-court defence. ... They're running the ball and shooting in transition in 5 seconds before you really get an opportunity."
Bryant, who sat out the fourth quarter with Los Angeles down by 36 points, was 15 for 34 from the field in 31 minutes – two nights after he played sick against the Phoenix Suns and missed his first 10 shots before finishing 1 for 14 with nine points.
"I'd rather get guys involved early. That's always the intent," Bryant said. "But when you go down 10-12 points in the hole, man, I've got to try to keep us in the ball game at some point. The responsibility is on me. I mean, when things go good, it's us. When things go bad, it's me."
Jordan Hill had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, off to a franchise-worst 1-9 start despite Bryant's 27.3-point scoring average.
Four players scored in double digits in the first half for Golden State en route to a 74-55 lead, including Speights with a team-high 16.
The Warriors opened the game with a 15-6 run and increased the margin to 19 on a 3-pointer by Andre Iguodala with 2:49 left in the first quarter.
"We had a great start to the game," Curry said. "We were focused at both ends of the floor and we made it as tough as possible on them at the defensive end. Our defence definitely made Kobe make some tough ones. If you make him work, hopefully you'll wear him down. And we were able to do that."
Bryant was struck in face by Draymond Green while trying to pass the ball with 5:22 left in the half, and lay on the floor for several anxious moments while he was attended to by trainer Gary Vitti.
The Lakers got no closer than 14 after that. Bryant hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 64-50 with 2:04 left in the second quarter, but Curry responded with a driving layup and a 3-pointer 20 seconds apart.
"That's a good a job at point guard as I've ever seen, what Steph did tonight – managing the game, being aggressive at the right times, taking care of the ball and finding guys," Kerr said. "I think he's the best in the NBA right now at that position."
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ROCKETS 69, THUNDER 65
OKLAHOMA CITY – James Harden scored 19 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 69-65 on Sunday night for their third consecutive victory.
Dwight Howard had 12 points and nine rebounds for Houston, and Patrick Beverley added 12 points and eight boards.
The last time a team won with 69 or fewer points was Detroit's 64-62 victory over Utah on March 13, 2005, according to STATS. Both teams shot below 30 per cent from the field – the last time that happened was Oct. 29, 2003, when Denver beat San Antonio 80-72.
Houston shot just 28.8 per cent. The last time an NBA team won with a lower percentage was on Feb. 19, 2000, when Chicago shot 28.6 per cent and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 74-72.
Reggie Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder. Lance Thomas also had 15 points.
BUCKS 91, HEAT 84
MIAMI – Brandon Knight made three 3-pointers down the stretch and scored 20 points, leading Milwaukee to the road win.
Jabari Parker added 13 points for the Bucks (5-5), who started 5-21 last season. Larry Sanders, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zaza Pachulia each scored 11.
Milwaukee beat Miami for the first time in the teams' last 10 meetings, including playoffs.
Mario Chalmers scored 18 for Miami, which was again without Dwyane Wade and lost its third straight. Shawne Williams had 13 points.
Wade missed his second straight game with a bad hamstring.
KNICKS 109, NUGGETS 93
NEW YORK – The Knicks held the Nuggets to one basket in the second quarter and snapped a seven-game losing streak.
With the game tied at 31 entering the period, the Knicks outscored the Nuggets 31-8. Ty Lawson's layup at the buzzer was the lone field goal for Denver in the second.
Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith each scored 28 points for New York.
Arron Afflalo had 18 points and Lawson added 17 points and nine assists for the Nuggets, who have dropped seven of their last eight games.