Warriors beat Heat 120-100 for sixth straight win as Curry takes over and the bench delivers

Stephen Curry spent the first half of Thursday's game against Miami looking like a man without his jumper. He spent the second half winning it anyway. The Golden State Warriors pulled away for a 120-100 victory at Chase Center, their sixth consecutive win after an 0-3 start, and the way they did it may matter more than the final margin.

Curry went 2-for-10 from the field before halftime, according to SB Nation's player grades, then took over after the break and finished with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 6-of-12 from three, in 28 minutes. Along the way he passed Oscar Robertson for 17th on the NBA's career scoring list, The Associated Press reported. The AP also identified the turning point: a 26-9 Golden State run in the third quarter that Miami never answered.

The Warriors could wait out Curry's slow start because others carried the load. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, in only the ninth game of his career, posted 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals while taking turns on Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Draymond Green scored just two points but handed out a season-high 11 assists, driving a team total of 36 assists that was also a season best. Will Richard, starting again with Gui Santos out, was the only Warrior in double figures at halftime and held former Warrior Andrew Wiggins to 1-of-6 shooting.

The bench gave Golden State its separation. Georges Niang scored 13 points and drew a technical after a confrontation with Bobby Portis Jr. Al Horford hit all three of his shots, including two threes, and finished plus-21, the best mark on the team. Brandon Williams added 10 points, Gary Payton II made all three of his shots for nine points, and Charles Bassey contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 14 minutes. Steve Kerr said afterward that Bassey is "earning more minutes for sure," per SB Nation. The Warriors also scored 28 points off turnovers.

For Miami, Davion Mitchell scored 22 points, Antetokounmpo had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Adebayo added 18 points and 10 rebounds, according to the AP.

All of it came without Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Kristaps Porziņģis and Santos, who were all inactive. Winning by 20 with four rotation players out tells you more about how deep this roster is than the streak does.

What it means for Orlando

Golden State is 6-3 and hosts the Orlando Magic on Saturday, two days after the Miami game. The streak has been built against real competition. It includes a 134-114 win at Denver, a 119-114 win at Minnesota, a 17-point home win over the Lakers and a 116-113 decision over Phoenix, one of the teams that beat them in the 0-3 opening week. Five of the six wins came by double digits.

The Heat game also showed the Warriors no longer need Curry to carry them for 48 minutes. With Lendeborg running the offense when Curry and Green sit and a second unit that outscored Miami's on Thursday, Kerr can manage his star's minutes even with Butler and Porziņģis out. Orlando will be the latest test of whether a lineup this short-handed can keep winning at this rate, and Bassey's role will be one to watch now that his coach has said it is growing.