Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a three-point basket against the Los Angeles Clippers at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California, on Wednesday.

DPA/Los Angeles


The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors were given their stiffest test of the young season and remained perfect.
Reigning league MVP Stephen Curry fired in 31 points, including 13 straight in the final quarter, rallying the Warriors to a thrilling 112-108 home-court victory over the previously unbeaten LA Clippers on Wednesday night.
“When we really needed him most, he stepped up for us,” interim head coach Luke Walton said of Curry. “He’s a winner, and he showed why he’s MVP of the league right now.”
Harrison Barnes had 17 points, Klay Thompson added 16 for Golden State (5-0), who stormed back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit for a 21st consecutive victory at Oracle Arena.
“They kept their poise out there, they’re battle tested and responded beautifully in the fourth quarter,” Walton added.
Foul-plagued Chris Paul had 24 points and nine assists while Blake Griffin netted 23 for the Clippers (4-1) who have lost 18 of the last 20 outings to their Western Conference foes.
“We had a lot of mistakes during the game, that’s the difference between us and them,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “It was a heck of a basketball game. I’ll take this game all day.”  
The Warriors had blown out their first four opponents by an average of 25 points but fell behind 10 early in the final frame before rallying.
“We don’t really get concerned,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “We can cover 10 points in a couple of minutes.”
Barnes ignited the comeback with 10 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Curry then buried consecutive triples, to give the Warriors a 103-99 lead with 4:37 left.
The Clippers fought back to take their last lead at 106-105 on a DeAndre Jordan free throw with 1:17 to play.
Curry, however, splashed his seventh triple of the game to put the Warriors ahead for good. He added two free throws but a Paul layup cut it to 110-108 before Thompson sank two free throws with 13.3 seconds left to seal the win.
“It was good for us to feel a little bit of adversity against a good team like that,” Curry said. We’re not going to blow everybody out this year. We answered the bell.”
Elsewhere:
•Washington Wizards 102, San Antonio Spurs 99: Bradley Beal buried the game-winning triple with three-tenths of a second left to cap a 25-point effort, and John Wall added 17 with 13 assists, lifting the Wizards (3-2) over the visiting Spurs. Kawhi Leonard had 23 points for San Antonio (3-2) who have dropped the last two meetings in the series after taking the previous 17.
lIndiana Pacers 100, Boston Celtics 98: Paul George had 26 points with 10 rebounds, and Monta Ellis hit the tie-breaking free throws with 13.7 seconds left, helping the Pacers (2-3) edge beat the visiting Celtics. Isaiah Thomas led Boston (1-3) with 27 points.
lAtlanta Hawks 101, Brooklyn Nets 87: Al Horford tallied 21 points, Germany’s Dennis Schroder added 20, and the hosting Hawks (5-1) won their fifth in a row while dropping the Nets to 0-5 despite a season-high 27 points by Brook Lopez.
lCleveland Cavaliers 96, New York Knicks 86: LeBron James scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Mo Williams added 22, and the Cavs (4-1) rallied past the visiting Knicks for their fourth straight win. Carmelo Anthony collected 17 and 12 rebounds for New York (2-3) which was outscored 58-40 in the second half.
lHouston Rockets 119, Orlando Magic 114 (OT): James Harden scored seven of his 28 points in overtime, Dwight Howard added 23 with 14 rebounds as the Rockets (2-3) beat the visiting Magic (1-4) despite a 29-point effort from Frenchman Evan Fournier.
lMilwaukee Bucks 91, Philadelphia 76ers 87: Khris Middleton scored 21 points, including a key triple with 48 seconds remaining, Greg Monroe added 18, and the hosting Bucks (2-3) welcomed back Jabari Parker while dropping the Sixers to 0-6.  
 The second overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Parker scored just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in his season-debut since tearing his ACL on Dec. 15. Rookie Jahlil Okafor topped Philadelphia with 21 points.
lToronto Raptors 103, Oklahoma City Thunder 98: DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 17 with 12 rebounds, and the unbeaten Raptors (5-0) rallied from eight down midway through the final frame to beat the Thunder. Kevin Durant fired in 27 points and Russell Westbrook addd 22 with 16 assists for hosting Oklahoma (3-2), who were outscored 30-17 in the fourth frame.
lPhoenix Suns 118, Sacramento Kings 97: Eric Bledsoe scored 19 points, Brandon Knight had all 17 in the second half and the Suns (3-2) crushed the visiting Kings (1-4), playing without All-Star centre DeMarcus Cousins for the second straight game because of a strained right Achilles tendon.
lPortland Trail Blazers 108, Utah Jazz 92: Damian Lillard dropped in 35 points, C.J. McCollum added 27 and the visiting Trail Blazers (3-2) drummed the Jazz (2-2).