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National Basketball Association
Golden State 112, Brooklyn 95
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 25, 2017
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Officials: #26 Pat Fraher, #32 Marat Kogut, #15 Zach Zarba
Attendance: 19596

OAKLAND, Calif. -- There was no champagne. No balloons. Heck, not even an announcement.

Apparently, clinching a playoff these days is a mere formality for the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot Saturday night, riding 51 combined points from guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to a 112-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

"I don't think many people realized it," Curry said of the postgame locker room scene after the Warriors (49-9) ran their streak of postseason berths to five for only the second time in franchise history. "I think I was the first to realize it and I said something. But there was no celebration."

Curry capped a 10-0 run at the end of the second quarter with his fourth four-point play of the season, helping Golden State, playing without Kevin Durant for the first time this season, build a 62-51 halftime lead that set the stage for the club's 10th straight home win.

Durant sat out with a bruised left pinkie, suffered in Thursday's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

"When he's not out there, it certainly affects us," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Durant's absence. Golden State shot only 42.0 percent in the game. "He's obviously such a great weapon."

The Warriors, who had a six-year run of postseason appearances while residing in Philadelphia in the 1940s and '50s, ended a five-year drought in 2012-13. Curry was a part of that clincher as well.

"I remember those days," he insisted after leading all scorers with 27 points against the Nets. "There was a huge celebration in the locker room. Obviously, it's expected now."

At the other end of the spectrum, Brooklyn, playing the second night of a back-to-back, lost its 16th straight game.

"We competed," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson proudly boasted. "It wasn't perfect by any means. But that's the type of effort we were looking for."

Thompson complemented Curry's 27 points with 24, helping the Warriors improve to 10-0 at home this season against Eastern Conference competition.

The Nets, who blew a 16-point lead in a home loss to Golden State in December, led 46-45 with 4:02 left in the first half before the Warriors took charge.

Three Nets finished with double-doubles -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with 16 points and 10 rebounds, backup guard Sean Kilpatrick with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and backup forward Trevor Booker with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Spencer Dinwiddie, another reserve, added 13 points for Brooklyn, which tipped off an eight-game trip with a 20-point loss at Denver on Friday night.

"Give them credit," Kerr said of the Nets. "They battled us."

Down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and 93-76 with 10:15 to go, the Nets used a 13-4 run to climb within 97-89 on a 3-pointer by Brook Lopez with 5:43 to play.

But Brooklyn missed its next four shots and mixed in a turnover with an opportunity to get closer, and when Curry converted a drive into a three-point play with 2:59 to go, the margin was double digits again at 102-91.

"I'm disappointed in myself," admitted Lopez, who had two of the Nets' four misses in the key sequence. "I feel like I let my team down. I thought I got some good looks. I just couldn't get it to go down, and they kind of took advantage of that."

Lopez was held to nine points on 3-for-13 shooting for the Nets (9-49), whose last win came more than a month ago (Jan. 20) at New Orleans.

Turnovers accounted for much of the difference in the game. The Nets turned the ball over 18 times, resulting in 22 Warriors points, while Brooklyn could get only 10 points off 11 Golden State turnovers.

One of the Brooklyn turnovers resulted in a steal by Warriors forward Draymond Green, the 500th of his career.

The center tandem of Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee combined for 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Warriors, who begin five-game Eastern swing at Philadelphia on Monday.

NOTES: Warriors coach Steve Kerr announced after the game that PG Briante Weber would not be re-signed after his second 10-day contract expires Sunday, creating a roster spot. The Warriors are reportedly set to pursue veteran PG Jose Calderon, who is expected to be bought out by the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Warriors SF Kevin Durant's injury (bruised left pinkie) is not considered serious and he could return Monday at Philadelphia. ... Warriors PF Draymond Green became the 89th active player to reach 500 career steals. He joined teammates SF Andre Iguodala (1,525), PG Stephen Curry (984), Durant (838), PF David West (705), C Zaza Pachulia (683) and PG Shaun Livingston (506) in the 500 Club. ... The Nets' 16-point lead in their Dec. 22 home loss to Golden State equaled their biggest of the season.
Top Game Performances
 
Brooklyn   Golden State
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 16 Scoring Stephen Curry 27
Spencer Dinwiddie 5 Assists Andre Iguodala 9
Trevor Booker 10 Rebounds JaVale McGee 9
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 4 Free Throws Made Klay Thompson 6
Joe Harris 2 Steals Stephen Curry 3
Joe Harris 2 Blocks David West 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Brooklyn 95 40.4 8-28 11-17 25 52 3 8 18
Golden State 112 42.0 11-31 17-22 30 52 11 10 11
Upcoming Games
  • Golden State will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Warriors have a W/L % of .816 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Sacramento. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .184 after a loss.