3 things to know: Warriors’ Steph Curry, Mychal Mulder combine for 59 to cruise past Thunder, 118-97

After closing the final road swing of the 2020-21 campaign with a split against the New Orleans Pelicans in a back-to-back, the Golden State Warriors returned to Chase Center for a six-game homestand to end the season.

Golden State opened the contest with a seven-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Steph Curry’s 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field helped charge the Warriors in a much-needed wire-to-wire victory over the Thunder.

However, the Warriors aren’t done with the Thunder yet. Lu Dort, Theo Maledon and Darius Bazley will meet the Warriors for a rematch at Chase Center on Saturday evening.

Mychal Mulder

With a trio of Golden State’s second unit sidelined with injury, Mychal Mulder has continued to step up off the bench. On Thursday, Mulder tallied 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor in 20 minutes. The sharpshooter got hot from long distance, drilling seven triples on 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

Mulder has notched double-figures in scoring six of his last eight games for the Warriors, including a career-best 26 point effort against the Dallas Mavericks.

During the stretch run to the playoffs, Mulder’s shooting off the bench will be a valuable asset in Golden State’s rotation.

Playoff Picture

With the Memphis Grizzlies falling to the Detroit Pistons, the Warriors had the opportunity to pick up a game at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture. Following their much-needed victory over the Thunder, the Warriors moved into No. 8 seed in the race to the play-in tournament.

On Saturday, the Warriors will welcome the Thunder back to Chase Center for the second part of a two-game series while the Grizzlies will travel to meet the Toronto Raptors.

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:

Highlight of the night

While Curry recorded another 30 point plus performance, it was Juan Toscano-Anderson who provided the highlight of the night on Thursday. During the second quarter, the Oakland native soared past Oklahoma City’s defensive for an explosive rim-rocking slam-dunk.

Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter:

Toscano-Anderson finished the contest with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field with nine rebounds and eight assists in 32 minutes off the bench.

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