STEPHEN CURRY had 37 points, easily winning a matchup of the NBA’s top two scorers when Kevin Durant had his worst night of the season, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 117-99 Tuesday.

A matchup with his former teammate had Curry revved up, as did the chance to bounce back from a loss in Charlotte on Sunday.

“So it’s not the playoffs, but there’s an intensity that you have to show up to beat a team like that,” Curry said. “You thrive off that competitive atmosphere, knowing that there’s a lot of talent on the floor.”

Durant came in leading the league with 29.6 points per game, but he managed only 19, the first time all season he didn’t hit 20. He shot 0 for 8 in the decisive third quarter and finished 6 for 19 after sitting the fourth.

“They got long defenders, guys that can help, so seeing bodies all the time when I had the ball, that’s what great defenses do. And then some shots I wish I could’ve had back,” Durant said. “I rushed a few once we got down 15, 20. I’m trying to get it back so fast you end up taking bad shots and rushed shots.”

Curry almost caught his former teammate for the NBA scoring lead, making nine 3-pointers and raising his average to 28.7 per game. Durant dropped to 28.9.

Much of his struggles were due to the defense of Draymond Green, the former Defensive Player of the Year. “I wanted that challenge,” Green said, saying he was “pretty decent” with it.

He was way better than that.

“You can’t do a better job defensively than what Draymond did tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

(SD-Agencies)