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Stephen Curry exploded with 21 of his 62 career points in the first quarter Sunday night, helping the Golden State Warriors take a lead they never gave up in a 137-122 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in San Francisco. .
The game was a rematch of the Trail Blazers’ 123-98 victory on Friday night in a game that was also played at the 2-year-old Chase Center in San Francisco.
Curry surpassed his previous record of 54 with two free throws with 2:23 to play.
It was not over. With the Warriors comfortably ahead, Curry hit 27 consecutive feet, the second of which came with 42.2 seconds left to cap off his night of 62 points.
The 50-point night was the first of the NBA season, while the 60-point night was the first for a Warrior since Klay Thompson had 60 in 2016.
The last Guerrero to score more than 62 points in a game was Rick Barry with 64 in 1974.
Curry’s record-breaking night came in the same game that his consecutive free throw streak, dating back to last season, ended at 80.
Damian Lillard was in attendance for the performance, leading Portland with 32 points.
Seeking their first win of the season, the Warriors trailed 9-2 before Curry made three shots, including a triple, in a 17-3 flurry that gave Golden State the lead for good.
Curry had 31 points at halftime and 45 at the end of the third period, during which the Warriors led by as many as 20.
The Trail Blazers, who were finishing a California swing in search of a third win in four games, weren’t quiet. They got close to eight twice in the fourth quarter, the last time on two free throws by Enes Kanter with 2:53 left.
But Andrew Wiggins hit a triple 17 seconds later, ending any suspense other than Curry’s final point total.
Curry finished 18 of 31 from the field overall and 8 of 16 on 3s. He also shot 18 of 19 at the free throw line.
Wiggins added 21 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. 17, James Wiseman 12 and Eric Paschall 10 for the Warriors, who shot 55.7 percent.
CJ McCollum (28) and Kanter (24) backed Lillard for Portland, who shot 41.8 percent. Anthony contributed 10 points.
Kanter led the game in rebounding with 12. The Warriors’ Wiseman also posted a double-double with a total of 11 rebounds.
