WASHINGTON: Stephen Curry scored 51 points, including an NBA season-high 11 3-pointers, to power the defending league champion Golden State Warriors past host Washington 134-121 on Wednesday.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Curry scored 25 points in the first quarter as the Warriors improved to 45-4 with their eighth consecutive victory.
Curry went 11-of-16 from beyond the arc, finishing one 3-pointer shy of matching the one-game NBA record of 12 3-pointers shared by Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and former NBA standout Donyell Marshall.
"I missed one too many," Curry joked. "At the end of the game, yeah, I knew I was within reach. I was kind of searching, but not trying to force with where the game was. You can't mess around with the basketball gods trying to chase a record if the game doesn't call for it."
Curry went 13-for-14 from the floor in the first half, making eight 3-pointers in producing 36 points to give Golden State a 74-60 lead.
The Wizards rallied within 81-79 before Curry helped the Warriors put down the threat.
Curry's fellow NBA All-Star guard John Wall led Washington with a season-high 41 points and added 10 assists but the Wizards fell to 21-26 with their seventh loss in nine games.
"He made some unbelievable shots," Wall said of Curry.
Curry, who finished 19 of 28 from the field, made his first six shots, including five 3-pointers, inside the opening seven minutes.
"To start off like I did was fun," Curry said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr compared the attention Curry gets to that received by his former NBA teammate Michael Jordan during their time together with the 1990s NBA champion Chicago Bulls.
"There are a lot of similarities, I think," Kerr said. "Obviously with Michael drawing so much attention everywhere we went. I think today things are bigger in a lot of ways with social media and so many different media outlets. And Steph is getting a lot of notoriety, obviously, and drawing fans and media everywhere we go."
Kerr jokingly took the blame for Curry missing out on a 12th 3-pointer, saying, "My fault. Should've called more plays for him."
Warriors forward Draymond Green had 12 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, setting a Warriors single-season record with his 10th triple-double, while guard Klay Thompson added 24 points.
The Wizards were guided by interim coach Don Newman as coach Randy Wittman was away from the team following his brother's death.
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