National Basketball Association

Warriors regain winning ways as Thompson scores 25 vs. Nets

Published Nov. 14, 2014 1:38 a.m. ET

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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr wants his team to play fast and play smart, and he feels like it's finally starting to strike the delicate balance of doing both in his new offense.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points, Draymond Green had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 107-99 on Thursday night.

"We're still sort of adjusting and trying to find our identity," Kerr said. "I want them to be explosive, but a little less wild. It can be done, but it's tricky. It's like you don't want to take away their spirit, but you want to be smart, too."

The Warriors were coming off losses to Phoenix and San Antonio after a 5-0 start under Kerr. They entered the game leading the NBA with 21.9 turnovers per game as they adapt to Kerr's up-tempo, ball-movement based system that has produced incredible scoring efforts mixed with mind-boggling mistakes.

Stephen Curry added 17 points and five assists as the hot-shooting, turnover-prone Warriors slowly began to cut down on blunders. They shot 45.6 percent from the floor and had just 11 turnovers.

"It makes things so much easier when we take care of the ball," said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had 14 rebounds, 11 points and five assists.

Jarrett Jack scored 23 points against his former team, and Brook Lopez and Deron Williams each had 18 points as Brooklyn lost for the second time in two nights. The Nets, who fell 112-104 at Phoenix on Wednesday to begin their three-game road trip, were outrebounded 45-41 -- allowing 14 offensive rebounds.

"We have to get loose balls and we have to get rebounds. That's part of winning," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said.

The matchup of the league's best-shooting teams coming into the game -- the Warriors at 49.7 percent, and Brooklyn at 48.6 percent -- lived up to the hype in brief bursts.

The Warriors finished each half with a flurry, going on a 15-4 run at the end of the second quarter that whipped the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 into a frenzy. Andre Iguodala highlighted the spurt by dribbling from one end to the other through traffic before throwing down a one-handed slam that helped Golden State go ahead 66-55 at intermission.

The Nets fell behind by 15 in the third quarter and looked like a tired team ready to crumble. Instead, they regrouped and rallied in the fourth, slicing Golden State's lead to 93-88 on Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-pointer.

Just as they did in the first half, though, the Warriors closed strongly. Curry and Thompson each hit a 3, and Thompson converted an alley-oop layup on a pass from Green in the final minutes to stretch Golden State's lead to 105-96.

The Nets shot 44.3 percent and had only 12 turnovers. But they went 3 for 16 from 3-point range, while Golden State finished 11 of 34 from beyond the arc.

"I'm not worried about us. We'll be OK," said Nets forward Kevin Garnett, who had four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes. "We just have to continue to stay strong and stay together."

TIP-INS:

Nets: The Nets have lost nine of their last 10 at Golden State, but won 13 of 16 against the Warriors at home. ... The Nets went 6-14 in the second game of back-to-back sets last season.

Warriors: Curry became the 17th player in franchise history to score at least 7,000 points. ... David Lee missed his seventh game this season with a strained left hamstring. He remains out until at least next week.

THE HULKSTER

Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who was in the Bay Area to promote WrestleMania 31 at the 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara in March, fired up the crowd before the game.

UP NEXT:

Nets: Visit Portland on Saturday.

Warriors: Host Charlotte on Saturday.