OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry shook off slow starts to finish with a flurry, and the Golden State Warriors extended their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games by beating the Houston Rockets 105-93 on Wednesday night. ADVERTISING
OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry shook off slow starts to finish with a flurry, and the Golden State Warriors extended their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games by beating the Houston Rockets 105-93 on Wednesday night.
Thompson scored 21 points and Curry added 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to power an 11-0 run in the final minutes and turn a tight game into another comfortable win. Golden State improved its NBA-best record to 19-2 and helped Steve Kerr became the first rookie coach to win 19 of his first 21 games.
James Harden played through back pain to finish with 34 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who had won four straight and seven of eight despite Dwight Howard being sidelined.
Howard (strained right knee) and Warriors center Andrew Bogut (right knee tendinitis) both sat out.
Harrison Barnes finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, and reserve Marreese Speights had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors. Trevor Ariza and Donatas Motiejunas each scored 18 for the Rockets.
HAWKS 95, 76ERS 79
ATLANTA — Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap each scored 17 points, and Atlanta beat Philadelphia for its eighth straight victory — the Hawks’ longest winning streak in 17 years.
Korver sank five 3-pointers as Atlanta (15-6) posted its best streak since an 11-0 start to the 1997-98 season.
DeMarre Carroll had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. The Hawks averaged 104 points in their first seven wins of the streak, but relied on defense against Philadelphia.
Alexey Shved had 13 points to lead the 76ers, who have won two of four since their 0-17 start. Luc Mbah a Moute had 12 points, and K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant each had 10.
SPURS 109, KNICKS 95
SAN ANTONIO — Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 22 points and short-handed San Antonio rolled to victory over the New York Knicks, who lost their 10th straight.
San Antonio, playing without its Big Four, was 10 for 19 on 3-pointers and shot 50 percent overall. The Spurs had seven players in double figures, getting 13 points from Danny Green and 12 from Boris Diaw.
San Antonio was without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Parker (left hamstring) and Leonard (bruised right hand) were injured, but Duncan and Ginobili sat out to rest on the second night of a back-to-back.
HORNETS 96, CELTICS 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Charlotte withstood Boston’s fourth-quarter rally to win.
Kemba Walker added 18 points, and Lance Stephenson had 13 for the Hornets, who led by 12 points in the third quarter and were up 87-79 with 8:05 left.
The Celtics — led by Marcus Thornton’s 13 fourth-quarter points — pulled to 87-85 with 4:31 remaining. But Walker’s three-point play and back-to-back baskets by Jefferson pushed Charlotte’s lead to 94-85 with 1:19 left.
WIZARDS 91, MAGIC 89
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bradley Beal converted a lob pass at the buzzer to lift Washington over Orlando.
John Wall led the Wizards with 21 points and 11 assists, Nene added 12 points, Kris Humphries scored 11, and Marcin Gortat had 10. Washington, which scored the final seven points, beat Orlando for the seventh straight time.
Victor Oladipo had 17 points to lead the Magic. Tobias Harris added 15, Elfrid Payton had 12, and Channing Frye and Kyle O’Quinn added 10 each.
The teams both shot only nine free throws, the first time this season each team had fewer than 10.
CLIPPERS 103, PACERS 96
INDIANAPOLIS — Jamal Crawford scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers hold off Indiana for their ninth straight win.
Los Angeles (16-5) ended a four-game skid against Indiana.
C.J. Miles scored a season-high 30 points and made six 3-pointers. Lavoy Allen had 14 points for Indiana (7-15), which has lost six straight.
The Pacers made a furious fourth-quarter charge after trailing 82-62 late in the third. They opened the fourth on a 12-4 spurt, got as close as five, but fell behind 95-87 with less than four minutes left.
BULLS 105, NETS 80
CHICAGO — Derrick Rose scored 23 points, Pau Gasol had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Chicago beat Brooklyn.
Chicago had six players score in double figures, including all five starters. Jimmy Butler had 18 points, Mike Dunleavy scored 14, and Taj Gibson finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Deron Williams led Brooklyn with 17 points, but the Nets dropped their third straight. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points, and Alan Anderson had 12.
MAVERICKS 112, PELICANS 107
DALLAS — Monta Ellis scored 13 of his 26 points in the final 5 minutes, and Dallas outlasted New Orleans.
New Orleans had a chance to tie it in the final 6 seconds, but Ryan Anderson’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim. Dallas’ Richard Jefferson grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.
Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris scored 20 points each for Dallas.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points and added 11 rebounds before limping off the court in the fourth quarter for the Pelicans. Jrue Holiday added a season-high 30 points and 10 assists.
TIMBERWOLVES 90, TRAIL BLAZERS 82
MINNEAPOLIS — Andrew Wiggins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Minnesota stunned Portland.
Corey Brewer had 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. 7. They outrebounded Portland 56-38 to overcome four key players being out with injuries.
NUGGETS 102, HEAT 82
DENVER — Wilson Chandler scored 17 points, Arron Afflalo had 16 and Denver beat Miami to snap a four-game losing streak.
Chris Bosh had 14 points to lead Miami, which has dropped four of its last five on the road after starting the season 5-2 away from home. The Heat are in the middle of a stretch of eight of 10 games on the road.
