OAKLAND (California) • The Chicago Bulls should have known what was to come when they fell to a franchise-worst 43-17 first quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
The signs were plain to see. They were down 44-28 in the same period in their previous meeting and went on to lose 149-124.
This time, Klay Thompson buried three straight three-pointers in the first 70 seconds of the National Basketball Association (NBA) game as the Warriors ran away to a 146-109 victory at the Oracle Arena.
The win capped one of the highest-scoring, season-series sweeps ever. No team had before scored 149 and 146 points in a two-game season series against the Bulls.
Thompson, who broke the NBA record with 14 threes in the reverse fixture en route to 52 points, hit seven of 11 from beyond the arc to claim a game-high 30 points.
"That was incredible," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said of the guard. "Unbelievable start for him. It was a great first quarter, obviously set the tone."
The Warriors (28-14) scored 14 of the game's first 16 points and never looked back, going up 76-55 at half-time before coasting home for their third consecutive win.
Stephen Curry backed Thompson with 28 points and a game-high eight assists for the Warriors, and Kevin Durant added 22 points.
Curry's third of five three-pointers in the game was the 2,283rd of his career, moving him past Jason Terry for third on the NBA all-time list behind Ray Allen (2,973) and Reggie Miller (2,560).
Curry said: "They are people I looked up to. Obviously I want to catch them. I respect what guys have done before."
Thompson shot 10 for 18 overall, leading the Warriors to a 57.6 per cent shooting performance.
Back-ups Quinn Cook (15 points), Jordan Bell (13) and Marcus Derrickson (10) also scored in double figures as Golden State beat the Bulls for the fourth straight time.
Zach LaVine had a team-high 29 points for the Bulls (10-32), who were playing the second of a five-game Western trip. Bobby Portis added 16 points and Antonio Blakeney 12 for Chicago, who lost their sixth game in a row.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
