LOS ANGELES—The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs needed dominant fourth quarters on Saturday to keep their impressive NBA home winning streaks alive.
Spurs guard Danny Green was an unlikely catalyst in San Antonio, where the Spurs trailed by two going into the final period but emerged with a 93-85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Green had missed all eight of his shots before draining a go-ahead three-pointer with 7:19 left to play that ignited the Spurs’ finishing burst.
“(Green’s) a pro and we made it clear to him there’s only two outcomes — it goes in or it doesn’t,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “He still gets his paycheck. His family still loves him, so screw it, let ‘em fly — and he did.”
The Spurs improved to 32-0 at home this season and have won 41 in a row dating back to last season.
In Oakland, California, the Warriors stretched their NBA record home winning streak to 48 with their 30th home win of this season, 123-116 over the struggling Phoenix Suns.
But they, too, had to rally in the fourth, overcoming a nine-point deficit after three quarters with the aid of a 14-0 fourth-quarter scoring run.
Superstar sharp-shooter Stephen Curry, who missed most of the third quarter because of foul trouble, returned to score 15 points in the final frame.
Golden State trailed 108-105 before Curry launched the decisive run with a game-tying three-pointer with 5:36 remaining.
The Suns missed their next six shots as the Warriors got a dunk by reserve center Marreese Speights, a dunk by Harrison Barnes and another three-pointer from Curry that gave the Warriors a 115-108 lead with 3:31 to play.
Draymond Green stretched the lead to nine with a driving basket and Curry made two free-throws to cap the 14-0 run.
Curry scored a game-high 35 points, making seven of 16 three-point attempts and handing out six assists.
Speights added 25 points, Klay Thompson scored 20 and Green 19 for the Warriors, who were without NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala because of a sprained left ankle.