The Golden State Warriors are known for making threes. Boasting a pair of the game’s best shooters in Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, the three-point shot is a primary tool in Golden State’s offensive arsenal.
But even by their standards, Tuesday night represented taking things to a different level.
The pair fueled Golden State’s largest fourth-quarter comeback in more than 50 years, spurring the Warriors to a 42-point period to overcome an 18-point deficit going into the quarter for a 112-103 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Thompson made four 3-pointers during the dramatic fourth and Stephen Curry added a pair of shots from beyond the arc down the stretch as the Warriors rallied from as many as 27 points down in the second half.
Oracle Arena erupted at the final buzzer after being a den of silence for much of the game. Team owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers ducked into a private room and let out a loud shout while the Warriors celebrated the NBA’s biggest comeback this season while jogging off the court.
“We’re shooters,” Thompson said. “It just happened to be a night where we were all missing at the same time, and then it turned out we were hitting at the same time.”
Golden State’s comeback from 18 points down after three quarters was their biggest since storming back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 126-124 on February 9, 1962.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson, never at a loss for words, could only smile.
“This being my third year here, there has not been a bigger win,” Jackson said. “We were not sharp, we were not crisp and we allowed (Toronto) to get it going. To our credit, we began to defend.”
And score.
Thompson finished with 22 points and seven assists, nearly matching Curry’s 27 and 10. David Lee added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.
Toronto led 75-48 with 9:20 left in the third quarter when Golden State began inching back.
The Warriors trimmed the gap to 88-70 heading into the fourth then stormed back behind an onslaught of 3-pointers.
Golden State made eight 3s over the final 12 minutes, the last coming from Harrison Barnes with 47.2 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 109-103 lead.
“It’s one of those where they started hitting the 3 in the third quarter and we couldn’t turn the water off,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “We did an excellent job in the first three quarters and then we couldn’t score in the fourth quarter.”
DeMar DeRozan had 26 points to pace Toronto, who lost their fourth straight. Kyle Lowry added 20 points and nine assists despite being knocked out of the game briefly following a collision with Warriors center Andrew Bogut.
Golden State was down and nearly out before storming back.
The Raptors scored 65 points in the first half and were scoring almost at will against a Golden State defence that had allowed 100 points or more in six straight games. Toronto made it seven despite scoring just nine points over the final 8:45.
That cold snap opened the door for the Warriors’ biggest comeback of the season and extended the Raptors’ losing streak in Oakland to nine games.
Curry nearly brought his team back in record-breaking fashion. He made three 3-pointers and needs three more to break Jason Richardson’s franchise record of 700.
He got plenty of support in draining 3s.
Thompson went 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, Barnes added two and Draymond Green had one.
Barnes finished with 19 points, while Jermaine O’Neal added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
OTHER TUESDAY RESULTS
Pistons 107, Heat 97
The Detroit Pistons snapped Miami’s 10-game winning streak after clutch shots helped them withstand a fourth-quarter rally from the Heat.
The Pistons (8-10), who had their entire starting lineup and seven players overall score in double digits, let an early 18-point lead slip to just three in the final period.
Brandon Jennings nailed a three-pointer to stop a Miami run and finished with 15 points.
LeBron James had 23 for the Heat (14-4), who played without Dwyane Wade as he rested a sore knee.
76ers 126, Magic 125 (double overtime)
Philadelphia rookie Michael Carter-Williams fashioned a triple-double and had a hand in seven of the eight points his team scored in the second overtime as Philadelphia outlasted the Orlando Magic to end a four-game losing streak.
Carter-Williams had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, the second triple-double of his brief career with the Sixers (7-12).
Arron Afflalo scored a career-high 43 points for the Magic (6-12), who have dropped three in a row.
Mavericks 89, Bobcats 82
Dirk Nowitzki shook off a cold-shooting first half to carry the slumping Dallas Mavericks to a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Charlotte (8-11) not only blew a 12-point lead with a 15-point fourth quarter, but suffered a big loss when forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left the game in the third quarter with a broken left hand.
Nowitzki scored 25 points for Dallas (11-8), 21 in the second half and 14 in the fourth quarter after shooting 1-for-10 in the first half.
Nuggets 111, Nets 87
On the strength of a dominant third quarter, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Brooklyn Nets to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Nuggets (11-6) who outscored the Nets 31-15 in the third quarter and cruised the rest of the way.
Grizzlies 110, Suns 91
Memphis backup forwards Ed Davis and Jon Leuer combined for 44 points and 21 rebounds in a win over the Phoenix Suns.
With Grizzlies (9-8) ‘big men’ Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph both sidelined with injury, Leuer had a career-high 23 points with nine rebounds while Davis had a season-best 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Forward Marcus Morris led the Suns (9-9) with 18 points off the bench.
Celtics 108, Bucks 100
The rebuilding Boston Celtics moved into first place in the woeful Atlantic Division with a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jordan Crawford led six Celtics in double figures with a season-high 25 points and Boston improved to 8-12.
The Bucks have lost 12 of their last 13 to fall to 3-14.
Thunder 97, Kings 95
Kevin Durant only shot 8-for-21 but went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in scoring 27 points and added 11 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City (13-3) to a narrow victory over Sacramento (4-12).
Russell Westbrook also had an off-shooting night, draining just 7-of-19 from the field in scoring 15 points with seven assists and seven turnovers. Backup guards Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb, though, combined to shoot 10-of-18 off the bench and combine for 27 points.
The Kings kept it close with a fourth-quarter charge despite missing star center DeMarcus Cousins. Isaiah Thomas came off the bench to score 24 to lead Sacramento in the loss.