Last Night This Morning: Stephen Curry steals the show
There were three games on the NBA hardwood Thursday night, including a thriller to get things rolling on TNT. Here's what you need to know:
Game of the Night
The Golden State Warriors made the trip out to the Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back, but fatigue certainly wasn't a factor for the defending champs.
The Warriors put up 40 points in the first quarter and 75 in the highest-scoring first half the NBA's seen this season en route to a 129-116 victory.
The win moves Golden State to 10-0, giving the Warriors their best start in franchise history, and making them the fourth defending champion to win their first 10 games the following season.
The game also saw No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns post 17 points and 11 boards for his sixth double-double in eight games as a pro.
Performance of the Night
Stephen Curry was on fire to start Thursday's game. He put up 16 points on five field-goal attempts early on, knocking down each of his first three attempts from beyond the arc.
He went on to finish the first quarter with 21 points - his fourth 20-point quarter of the season.
Most 20-Pt Quarters This Season
Stephen Curry 4
C.J. McCollum 1
Reggie Jackson 1 pic.twitter.com/pS4lkZO3lA
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 13, 2015
Curry finished with 46 points on 15-of-25 shooting, hitting on 8-of-13 shots from long range.
Poster of the Night
Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside took the ball deep in the paint and victimized Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors.
(Image courtesy: NBA.com)
Quote of the Night
Stephen Curry spoke with TNT's David Aldridge after his team's win and offered some insight into the Warriors' offense.
"We don't call many plays. It's just kind of, reads, and the flow of the offense. Making passes over to the right space," Curry said. "Besides a couple of games, I think we did a good job of keeping our turnovers down, which is big. Other than that, it's just being aggressive, being confident, taking the open shots and knocking them down."
Tweet of the Night
The man they call Professor, 39-year-old Andre Miller, spent some time guarding - or trying to guard - Curry, and the reigning MVP got the best of him.
“HELP” pic.twitter.com/bgNd4ObxOg
— Old Man Kobe (@WauGasol) November 13, 2015
Notes
Gordon Hayward had 16 points and six rebounds in the first half against the Heat. ... The Warriors compiled 23 assists on 30 first-half field goals. ... Russell Westbrook led the NBA with four 20-point quarters last season. Stephen Curry has four through 10 games. ... Blake Griffin picked up his second technical foul with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter and was ejected. ... DeAndre Jordan left Thursday night's game with a shoulder injury but did return. ... Markieff Morris missed the majority of Thursday's contest with a left knee sprain.