First-place Warriors look the part against Pacers

ORACLE ARENA — The Golden State Warriors did Saturday night what first-place teams are supposed to do: Win a home game against a weary road rival.

Double-doubles from Stephen Curry and David Lee helped the Warriors win their third straight game, fifth straight at Oracle, and seventh of their last nine with a 103-92 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Klay Thompson would lead the 10-6 Warriors in scoring, with 22 points. Curry notched his double-double with twenty points and ten rebounds, while David Lee picked up his ninth double-double of the season with thirteen points and twelve rebounds.

Lee is averaging eight defensive rebounds per game on the season, leading the Warriors, and is fifth in the league with 11.1 rebounds per game.

Post-Game Audio: Warriors forward David Lee

After a 20-20 first quarter, the Warriors took control at the beginning of the second quarter, at one point stretching their lead to ten.

But the Pacers came storming back. David West’s two jump shots in the last few minutes of the half brought his team to within one, and George Hill gave his team a 42-41 lead with a fade away.

The Warriors, though, were determined to go into the half with a lead. Stephen Curry was fouled on a made shot and sunk the free throw. Klay Thompson hit a bit three pointer to extend his team’s lead, and with 5.9 seconds left in the half, David Lee had a big steal, threw the ball down court to Curry, who easily laid it in, helping the Warriors end the quarter on a 8-0 run and giving them a 51-42 lead going into the second half.

Post-Game Audio: Warriors guard Stephen Curry

This big finish to the half gave the Warriors all the momentum they’d need for the rest of the game.

Golden State came out in the third quarter ready to extend their lead, and they succeeded. They led by as much as 16 before the Pacers once again closed the gap with a 7-1 run with 4:30 left in the third.

The Pacers thought they were headed into the fourth quarter with the lead down to seven, but Jarrett Jack hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to keep the Warriors at a double-digit lead going into the fourth.

Post-Game Audio: Warriors guard Jarrett Jack

At one point Jack, a former Pacer, had scored 18 points in 17 minutes coming off the bench for the Warriors. He would end the game with 18 points. Jack and Carl Landry coming off the bench provided a huge lift for Golden State. The Warriors bench ended up scoring 38, while Indiana’s bench only scored 27.

Before the game, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson wanted to take advantage of the Pacers playing back-to-back games:

“They want to make it a half court, grind it out game. We want to run, but run with discipline and run while keeping our focus on defending.”

And they did just that. Indiana ran out of gas at the end of the game, scoring only six points in the final five minutes.

Post-Game Audio: Warriors head coach Mark Jackson

The Warriors are now tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for first place in the Pacific Division. It’s their best start since 2005. They look to go 4-0 on the homestand as they take on the Orlando Magic.