Curry's 40 points add to Warriors' 'really good vibe'

SAN FRANCISCO • The Golden State Warriors have got their mojo back after two barren National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, and their coach Steve Kerr is happy about the "good vibe" surrounding his team.

Star guard Stephen Curry scored 40 points as the Warriors breezed to a lopsided 119-93 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.

Curry, who scored 50 points in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, drained nine of his 17 three-point attempts and shot 15 of 24 overall in 34 minutes.

He has now made nine or more threes a league record 36 times. This was also the 52nd time he has scored 40 or more points in a game.

"In general, the high point is establishing our home floor, that this is going to be a tough place to come win a game," said Kerr on ESPN.

"And a lot of that is the way we're playing, a lot of that is our fans, the energy in the building, there's a really good vibe about the team.

"Great way to start the year but it's going to get a lot tougher. We are very happy to be where we are."

The Western Conference-leading Warriors, three-time NBA champions from 2014 to 2019, improved to an NBA-best 11-1 as Friday's win capped an eight-game, 16-day stretch at home.

Andrew Wiggins had 15 points, Kevon Looney grabbed 10 rebounds and Draymond Green tallied nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors.

They opened their lengthy home advantage with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, before racking up seven consecutive wins.

Zach LaVine had 23 points and DeMar DeRozan 18 for the Bulls (8-4), who began a five-game trip without Nikola Vucevic, who tested positive for Covid-19.

Golden State shot 15-for-46 from three-point range, outscoring the Bulls 45-24 from beyond the arc.

In Boston, Dennis Schroder scored eight of his season-high 38 points in overtime and Jayson Tatum tallied 27 points as the Boston Celtics beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 122-113.

The Celtics (6-6) raised their level of play in the extra session, outscoring the Bucks 14-5 as Schroder led the assault.

He also finished with eight rebounds to help the Celtics win for the fourth time in five games after a dismal 2-5 start to the season.

The Bucks dropped to 6-7.

The Celtics won despite being without Jaylen Brown for the third game with a hamstring injury.

Milwaukee were missing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was ruled out just before tip-off with a right ankle sprain.

They were already without Khris Middleton, who missed his seventh straight game after testing positive for Covid-19.

In Los Angeles, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves (4-7) ended a six-game losing streak by cruising to a 107-83 victory over the LA Lakers (7-6).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS