Andre in mood as Hawks feud

Golden State's Stephen Curry makes his point after draining a 3-pointer in the third quarter of the Warriors' 119-111 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta on Monday. David Goldman / AP

ATLANTA - The Golden State Warriors won on an off-night for the Splash Brothers after the Atlanta Hawks couldn't overcome the benching of Dennis Schroder.

Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 24 points to carry the Warriors to Monday's 119-111 victory over the Hawks, whose chances were ruined by an argument on the court that led to point guard Schroder sitting out most of the second half.

Bouncing back from their first regular-season losing streak in nearly two years, the Warriors won for the second game in a row without Kevin Durant, who is out indefinitely with a left knee injury.

Stephen Curry had 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson was held to 13 after a scoreless first half. But Iguodala and the Warriors bench stepped up to outscore Atlanta's reserves 55-37.

"It's not about one guy," Curry said. "It's not about one lineup."

Schroder led the Hawks with 23 points - 19 coming in the first quarter, the highest-scoring period of his career. But he went to the bench with 8:41 left in the third quarter after having words with teammate Dwight Howard over an errant pass, leaving Curry open for a 3-pointer.

Coach Mike Budenholzer yanked Schroder out of the game, and he never returned.

Schroder was clearly miffed by the move, especially with the Hawks going on to their sixth loss in the last eight games.

"I don't understand coach's decision," he said. "Maybe I'm too competitive. I'm just trying to be competitive, trying to win games. But I don't get that one."

Budenholzer was tight-lipped about his handling of Schroder, a highly talented 23-year-old who already served a one-game suspension for returning late to the team after the All-Star break.

"Just a coach's decision," Budenholzer said. "We need to learn to play together and stay together for 48 minutes."

Led by Schroder, the Hawks raced to a 42-35 lead in a run-and-gun first quarter - matching their highest-scoring period of the season.

Atlanta was still ahead 66-61 at the half, but it was clear the home team had missed a chance to push the margin even higher.

Thompson was scoreless over the first two quarters, missing his only two shots while picking up three fouls. Draymond Green also spent extended time on the bench with three fouls. Curry had just seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.

But the Warriors got it going in the second half, and the Hawks faded down the stretch without their point guard.

"We've got to figure it out, me and coach," Schroder said. "I want to talk about it. Dwight's got to be in there, too. Get on the same page. Then we'll be alright."

Kawhi cranks it up to outhustle Harden

With "MVP!" chants reverberating through the AT&T Center, on Monday night, San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard outdueled Houston's James Harden in the fourth quarter of a battle between two of the league's top players.

Leonard scored 39 points, including 17 in the final quarter, and made big plays at both ends of the court in the final 30 seconds as the Spurs rallied for a 112-110 victory over the Rockets.

"Kawhi wanted it badly, and he went and took it," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

Leonard outscored Harden 17-4 in the final quarter as the Spurs won their eighth straight.

Harden finished with 39 points and 12 assists in the final matchup of the season between the intrastate rivals.

Harden hit one of two free throws to give Houston a 108-107 lead with 39.7 seconds, left, but Leonard followed with a 3-pointer over Nene 14 seconds later for a 110-108 advantage.

Leonard then blocked Harden's layup attempt from behind, pinning the attempt on the glass with 18.9 seconds remaining.

"I saw him get an easy lane to the basket and just tried to chase him down and time the layup," Leonard said. "David Lee did a good job of not letting him really get athletic. It let me get the ball."

Leonard added a pair of free throws for a 112-108 lead with 14.5 seconds left to give the Spurs their third win in four games against Houston this season.

"The block is what makes him special," Popovich said. "Harden makes 3s, Kawhi makes 3s, Steph Curry makes 3s. Everybody does that. But I don't know who goes to the other end and does what he does. Not that many people, on a consistent basis, an entire game, game after game."

Associated Press