Stephen Curry scores 42 points, Warriors rout Cavaliers
CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Curry made nine 3-pointers and scored 42 points, Kevin Durant added 25 and the Golden State Warriors came back to face a very different looking Cleveland team for the first time since winning another NBA title, and beat the Cavaliers 129-105 on Wednesday night.
Curry scored nine points in less than a minute midway through the fourth quarter to help the Warriors pull away for their eighth straight over their former Finals rivals.
Curry added nine rebounds, seven assists and appears completely healed after missing 11 games with a strained groin. Durant had 10 rebounds and nine assists.
It was Golden State's first visit to Cleveland since June, when the Warriors completed a sweep to win their third championship in four years.
Nothing looked the same.
The Cavaliers lost LeBron James over the summer as a free agent and are starting from scratch after a four-year run as Eastern Conference champions. Cleveland also is playing without injured All-Star Kevin Love, forward J.R. Smith is on a forced hiatus and the team recently traded Kyle Korver.
Tristan Thompson, one of the only holdovers from those powerful Cleveland teams, had 19 rebounds and 14 points. Rookie Collin Sexton scored 20 points for Cleveland.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and Josh Hart hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes as Los Angeles beat San Antonio for its fourth straight victory.
Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who lost Brandon Ingram to a sprained left ankle in the first quarter. Los Angeles still beat the Spurs for the first time in three tries this season, but only after James dramatically took control of another fourth quarter during his third 40-point game since joining the Lakers.
DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Rudy Gay had a season-high 31 before fouling out for the Spurs in the first of back-to-back games in three days to wrap up the season series between these longtime West rivals. They'll meet again in San Antonio on Friday night.
San Antonio held an eight-point lead in the fourth before James started a rally by scoring nine consecutive points.
James scored all 20 of his fourth-quarter points in the final 9½ minutes, going 7 of 8 from the field with three 3-pointers. He also had six assists and five rebounds.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul George scored 25 of his 47 points in a sensational fourth quarter, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left that lifted Oklahoma City past Brooklyn.
George rallied the Thunder from a 23-point deficit and finished a point shy of his career high, leading them to a fourth straight victory in a game they trailed big for much of the way.
Russell Westbrook had his 108th career triple-double to snap a tie with former Nets star and coach Jason Kidd for third in NBA history, finishing with 21 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds.
Allen Crabbe scored 22 points and tied a season high with seven 3-pointers for New Jersey.
RAPTORS 113, 76ERS 102
TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 36 points, Jonas Valanciunas scored 18 of his season-high 26 in the fourth quarter and Toronto handed Philadelphia its 13th consecutive loss in Canada.
Serge Ibaka added 18 points to help the Raptors bounce back from a loss to Denver to win for the ninth time in 10 games. Toronto is an NBA-best 21-5, and improved to 11-3 at home.
Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 38 points and had 10 rebounds for Philadelphia.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 31 points and Denver shut down Orlando in overtime for its seventh straight victory.
After Terence Ross tied it for Orlando with a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets outscored the Magic 9-2 until Nikola Vucevic dunked for the Magic's first field goal of the overtime session with just 1:04 left.
Paul Millsap added 18 points for Denver, and center Nikola Jokic had 12 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. Evan Fournier led Orlando with 26 points before fouling out in overtime. Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 15 rebounds.
TIMBERWOLVES 121, HORNETS 104
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 35 points, Andrew Wiggins added a season-high 26 points and Minnesota beat Charlotte for its sixth victory in seven games.
Towns tied a career high with six blocks and had 12 rebounds. Wiggins tied season highs with six rebounds and five assists. Jeff Teague had a season-high 18 assists, and Taj Gibson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, and Nicholas Batum also finished with 18 points.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Julius Randle had 27 points and 18 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Dallas.
Anthony Davis had 27 points, a career-high nine assists and five blocks despite twisting his ankle and briefly leaving the court for treatment after stepping on Dorian Finney-Smith's foot.
Jrue Holiday had 17 points and four steals for New Orleans.
Harrison Barnes had 16 points for Dallas.
ATLANTA (AP) — Bradley Beal scored a season-high 36 points, Otto Porter Jr. had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Washington beat Atlanta for its third straight victory.
Wizards star guard John Wall missed the game because of personal reasons.
John Collins had a career-high 26 points and added 14 rebounds for Atlanta.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Eric Bledsoe matched his season high with 27 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 15 in Milwaukee's victory over Detroit.
Milwaukee countered an opening basket with nine consecutive points and did not trail after that. The Bucks led 30-21 after one quarter, 56-45 at halftime and then opened the third period with a 19-4 run.
Blake Griffin had 31 points for the Pistons.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Conley scored 22 points, JaMychal Green had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Memphis held Los Angeles to a season scoring low.
Memphis held Los Angeles to 34 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers. Boban Marjanovic led the Clippers with a season-high 19 points and had eight rebounds.