LOS ANGELES -- Down 23 in the first half, Stephen Curry never had any doubt the Golden State Warriors would come back.

"We never feel like we're out of it," Curry said.

Curry scored 23 of his game-high 40 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Warriors rallied for a 124-117 over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night at Staples Center.

Guard Klay Thompson added 25 points, forward Harrison Barnes had 21 and forward Draymond Green chipped in 19 points and nine assists as the Warriors (13-0) are two wins shy of tying the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and the 1948-49 Washington Capitals for the NBA's best start at 15-0.

"This was the toughest on the road so far," said Curry, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and finished making 11 of 22 shots from the floor, including six of 14 from behind the 3-point stripe.

Point guard Chris Paul, who missed the past two games with a sore groin, led Los Angeles (6-5) with 35 points and eight assists. Forward Blake Griffin finished with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Clippers, who have lost four in a row to the Warriors.

"The recipe against the Clippers is you can't give them easy points," said Curry, who committed seven turnovers. "That's what fuels their offense, easy buckets in transition off turnovers. The first quarter we let it happen, and I think that one little stretch in the fourth quarter (the lead) goes from three to 10 off of turnovers. Once we started to get good possessions in our offense and got stops and set our defense and make it tough on them, we were able to make some shots right away with it."

Golden State shot 73.3 percent in the final quarter to only 36.4 percent for Los Angeles. The Warriors also connected on eight of nine 3-point attempts (88.9 percent) compared to four of seven (57.1 percent) for the Clippers in the fourth. Overall, Golden State made 52.1 percent of their shots to 50 percent for the Clippers.

The Warriors hit 17 of 30 (56.7 percent) on 3-pointers to 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) for the Clippers, who were outscored 39-26 in the fourth.

"They executed down the stretch and it reminded me of when we first played them at Golden State," said Paul, referring to the Warriors 112-108 win on Nov. 4. Paul hit 13 of 22 field goals, making five of nine 3-pointers. "They made big shots when they needed to and I feel that that is on me. I need to control the game down the stretch. When we were up by 10 with six minutes left, we have to find a way to win the game."

A 3-pointer by Thompson gave the Warriors their first lead at 115-113, but Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, who scored 15 points, answered with a trey to give the Clippers the lead back. However, Curry nailed a 3-pointer with 1:47 left, and Golden State never trailed again.

"We were very lackadaisical and let them get into a good rhythm offensively," Thompson said of the Warriors' slow start. "We did a good job of taking them out of that in the second half."

Los Angeles got off to a roaring start, racing to a 41-25 advantage at the end of the first quarter. It was a season best for points in the opening quarter. The Clippers also shot a season-high 70.6 percent from the floor compared to 44.4 percent for the Warriors in the quarter.

Paul scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including all three of his 3-pointers, in the first quarter.

The Clippers led 68-54 at the break.

The Warriors rallied in the third quarter. After being down as much as 18, they closed to 91-85 when Green drained a 3-pointer to end the quarter.

Both clubs performed without key players. Golden State was without reserve guards Shaun Livingston (strained left hip flexor) and Leandro Barbosa (virus), while Los Angeles played without guard J.J. Redick (back spasms) wasn't available.

NOTES: Golden State entered the game leading the NBA in several categories, including points per game (114.2), field goal percentage (.481), 3-pointers per game (12.1), point differential (plus-15.3) and fast-break points (23.8). The Warriors also led the league in offensive rating (110.7). ... Los Angeles ranked third in points per game (105.1), trailing Golden State and the Oklahoma City Thunder (110.8) and a shade ahead of the Phoenix Suns (105.0). ... The two teams don't clash again until Feb. 20 at the Staples Center. ... Both clubs resume play Friday. The Warriors host the Chicago Bulls. The Clippers visit the Portland Trail Blazers.