It was a low-scoring affair but Stephen Curry was scorching hot anyway in leading the Golden State Warriors past the Phoenix Suns, 98-80 on the road on Monday night.

Curry hit seven 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 36 points and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals even as shooting partner Klay Thompson also had a big night with 25 markers with four 3 pointers. With defence in top-form for the Warriors, they didn’t need much offence from the other guys. Draymond Green finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds with 3 steals.

The Suns were in the game early with the game tied at 46 apiece at the halftime break. However, the Warriors went on a 30-15 run in the third quarter to open up the game and notch the easy blowout victory.

The Warriors lead the league in scoring at 109.6 per game but they brought their A-game on defence in this Western teams match-up. Four players finished in double-figures for Phoenix led by Eric Bledsoe’s 19 points and Brandon Knight’s 13 points but the Suns shot 37.7% from the field hitting just 29-of-77 shots overall. Golden State also won the battle of the boards, 48-37.

With the win, Golden State (50-12) jumped ahead of the Atlanta Hawks (50-13) by half a game for the league’s best win-loss record. The Warriors have won four in a row and six of their last seven games and they can rack up more wins in the next four games against lowly teams Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix continue to slide out of the playoffs picture and ranks 10th in the tough Western Conference at 33-32— two and a half games behind New Orleans Pelicans (35-29) and three games back off eighth Oklahoma City Thunder (35-28), which owns the ninth and eighth place, respectively. The Suns continue a five-game homestand with games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Knicks and Pelicans in their next four outings.

To contact author of this article, email j.quizon@IBTimes.com.au.

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