Matt Steinmetz

It would be a little bit of an understatement to say that Stephen Curry started well in the Warriors’ 139-115 victory over the Washington Wizards at Oracle on Sunday. “Well” doesn’t do justice to Curry, who was in on all of the Warriors’ first 23 points.

Yep, Curry nailed four three pointers and handed out five assists in the game’s first seven-plus minutes, helping to get the Warriors — and their fans — into the game. Curry slowed down a little bit, but he still finished the first half with 22 points and six assists, and he buried 6-of-9 3-pointers. Despite hanging in for much of the first half, the Wizards still found themselves down 67-57 at halftime.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ FROM GOLDEN STATE’S 139-115 WIN OVER WASHINGTON.

The only downside to the night for the Warriors was the way it ended — with Brandon Jennings committing a flagrant foul against JaVale McGee, who was attempting a 3-point shot late in the game … but with the shot clock still in play.

That attempt came on the heels of the Warriors spoon-feeding Draymond Green on multiple possessions in order to try to get him a triple double, which they eventually did. But Jennings said he felt the Warriors were being disrespectful, and even Steve Kerr didn’t completely disagree.

Kerr apologized for McGee’s shot and acknowledged that he was “uncomfortable” with it. Still that couldn’t overshadow Curry’s performance.

Curry’s third quarter wasn’t quite as good as his first, though he did have 15 points, while backcourt mate Klay Thompson had 12. By that time, the Warriors led 106-88. Curry’s line was a thing of beauty. He had 42 points in just 35 minutes, going 15-for-22 from the field, including 9-for-14 from beyond the arc. He had eight assists and one lonely turnover.

Curry hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter to give him 300 for the season. He is the only player in NBA history with 300-plus 3-pointers in a single season. He has now done so twice. Last year Curry finished the season with 402 3-pointers, a league record.

The Warriors, of course, have put together this 11-game winning streak without the services of Kevin Durant, who has an injured left leg. Durant continues to make progress and the issue isn’t if he’ll return, it’s when.

Though the Warriors have ruled him out for the next two games — vs. Minnesota and at Phoenix — it is likely he’ll return for the last game or so before the Warriors head into the postseason.

Draymond Green finished with a triple double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out 13 assists … never mind the Warriors purposely were feeding him for a bucket because he was two points short — until he buried a 3-pointer with under a minute.

Had a good, solid 20-plus minute interview with Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Travis Schlenk during the “NBA This Week.” Schlenk has been around since the Mike Montgomery era, and he has methodically moved up the organizational chart and is now one of the team’s important decision-makers.

LINK TO INTERVIEW WITH WARRIORS ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER TRAVIS SCHLENK.

We had a chance to ask Schlenk about a variety of topics, including:

–The emergence of Draymond Green as one of the best players in the NBA. Schlenk was largely responsible for the decision to draft Green, and we asked him what he saw in the former Michigan State forward.

Schlenk said that while the Warriors never expected Green to be this impactful, they did like his ability to pass, the fact he played four years in college and his competitiveness. But Schlenk went into more detail about Green and his game.

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Preview of the Western Conference finals? We’ll see. But nobody will complain if the Warriors and Rockets wind up playing to determine which team will play in the NBA Finals.

Despite both teams essentially being locked into their current seeding, they found a way to play a tough, competitive game at Oracle Arena on Friday — a game that was eventually won by the Warriors 107-98. It was the 10th consecutive victory for the Warriors.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ FROM WARRIORS’ 107-98 WIN OVER HOUSTON.

The Warriors (62-14) lead the Spurs in the battle for the the No. 1 overall seed in the West by 3.5 games with just six games remaining. So they’ve pretty much wrapped that up. Similarly, the Rockets are all but locked in to the No. 3 spot — too far behind No. 2 San Antonio and too far ahead of No. 4 Utah.

The Warriors found themselves down most of the night until a 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter put them in control 100-92. During that stretch, the Rockets came up empty on nine consecutive possessions and went more than six minutes without a score.

It was another long night for Houston’s James Harden against the Warriors, and he’s likely getting tired of them at this point. Harden finished with just 17 points and went 4-for-18 from the floor, including 2-for-9 from the 3-point line. The Warriors did a nice job of keeping Harden off the foul line, allowing him there for only seven attempts.

In four games against the Warriors this year, Harden went 23-for-74 from the field (31 percent) and 5-for-34 from beyond the arc (14.7 percent). He also committed 26 turnovers in those four games.

It was the defense that keyed this one for Golden State. The Rockets scored just 13 points in the fourth quarter and were outscored 19-6 over the final 9:41 of regulation. The Warriors finished their season-series with the Rockets having won three of four.

Stephen Curry finished with 24 points and Klay Thompson 20, but it was JaVale McGee who really gave the Warriors a boost when they needed it. McGee was a big-time factor on both ends of the floor, putting all the garbage in at the offensive end and defending the rim at the other. McGee had 13 points, four rebounds and five blocks in just 11 minutes. But the Warriors outscored Houston by 10 points with McGee on the floor.