SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry bounced back from one of the worst shooting nights of his career and scored 23 points, and the Golden State Warriors convincingly ended the Phoenix Suns’ 18-game winning streak with a 118-96 victory on Friday night.
The Warriors (19-3) limited the Suns (19-4) to a season low for scoring and slipped past Phoenix for the best record in the NBA.
The Suns were within 83-74 following a dunk by JaVale McGee early in the fourth quarter but never got closer. Gary Payton II scored on consecutive possessions, added a breakaway two-handed dunk, then followed with a short jumper to put Golden State ahead by 20.
Three days after going 4 of 21 while missing 11 of 14 3-point tries in a 104-96 loss in Phoenix, Curry shot 8 of 20 with six 3s, five rebounds and five assists.
Andrew Wiggins added 19 points as Golden State extended its home winning streak to 11. Draymond Green had nine points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
Deandre Ayton had 23 points and six rebounds for Phoenix. Chris Paul added 12 points and eight assists.
CLIPPERS 119, LAKERS 115
LOS ANGELES — Luke Kennard scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes, sending the Clippers over the Lakers.
Paul George scored 19 points for the Clippers, who never trailed and never pulled away in the city rivals’ first meeting of the season. They played a choppy, chippy game appropriate for two clubs hovering around .500 while dealing with major injury problems that have slowed the development of two rosters harboring NBA title ambitions.
LeBron James had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his first game back from a one-game absence under the NBA’s health and safety protocols. A positive COVID-19 test kept him out of the Lakers’ blowout win over Sacramento on Tuesday, but he received a series of negative subsequent tests that allowed him to play for only the 12th time in the Lakers’ 24 games this season.
Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Malik Monk scored all of his 20 points in the second half for the Lakers, who dropped to 12-12.
76ERS 98, HAWKS 96
ATLANTA — Joel Embiid scored 28 points, including a jumper with 42 seconds remaining that gave Philadelphia its first lead of the second half, and the 76ers took a comeback win over Trae Young and Atlanta.
Embiid snapped a 96-all tie with the 13-foot jumper. Seth Curry then stole a pass from John Collins. Danilo Gallinari missed a potential winning 3-pointer as time expired.
Embiid added 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which has won each of its first two games against the Hawks. Friday night was Philadelphia’s first visit to Atlanta since losing to the Hawks in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinal.
Young led Atlanta with 25 points. He failed to extend his streak of five games with 30 or more points but had 10 assists.
CAVALIERS 116, WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON — Darius Garland had 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Cleveland went on a 19-0 run spanning part of each half in a rout of Washington.
Cleveland won its fourth straight game, and this streak has been pretty emphatic. The Cavaliers beat Orlando by 13, Dallas by 18 and Miami by 26.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 36 points in the third. It was 99-72 after three before Washington cut into the margin in the fourth.
Jarrett Allen had 28 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth consecutive double-double.
Deni Avdija led Washington with 16 points.
NETS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 105
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant scored 30 points, including the clinching jumper with 11 seconds left, and Brooklyn held off Minnesota.
Durant was 12 of 13 on free throws and Patty Mills added 23 points for the Nets, who won for the fifth time in six games and improved their Eastern Conference-leading record to 16-6.
James Harden finished with 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 13 points.
Former Nets guard D’Angelo Russell scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost three of five. Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards finished with 19 apiece, and Malik Beasley had 18.
JAZZ 137, CELTICS 130
SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan Mitchell had 34 points and six assists to lead Utah over Boston.
Mike Conley added 29 points and seven assists for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds. Utah made a season-high 27 3-pointers and shot 53% from long distance.
Jayson Tatum scored 37 points to lead Boston. Dennis Schroder added 26 points while Al Horford chipped in 21 points and nine assists.
HEAT 113, PACERS 104
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 26 points with six 3-pointers and short-handed Miami beat Indiana.
The Heat were missing four regulars, including leading scorer Jimmy Butler, but compensated with 16-of-34 shooting from 3-point range, compared to the Pacers’ 9 of 36.
Heat forward Duncan Robinson scored a season-high 24 points and made four 3s. Tyler Herro had 18 points with three 3-pointers.
Caris LeVert scored a season-high 27 points for the Pacers, who have lost four in a row. Myles Turner had 20 and Chris Duarte 15. Domantas Sabonis added 14 points and 16 rebounds.
PELICANS 107, MAVERICKS 91
DALLAS — Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and New Orleans beat Dallas 107-91, two days after the Pelicans lost by 32 to the Mavericks at home while letting them set a franchise record for shooting percentage.
The Pelicans missed their first eight shots and started 2 of 20 before going 13 of 19 (68%) in the third quarter and outscoring Dallas 63-43 after halftime for their fourth win in six games following a 3-16 start.
The Mavericks shot 68.7% in a 139-107 win to start the home-and-home set, but surpassed the 26 misses from that outing early in the third quarter.
Luka Doncic, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds, was just 7 of 20 from the field as Dallas finished at 41% (32 of 79). The Pelicans shot 42% (37 of 89).
ROCKETS 118, MAGIC 116
HOUSTON — Eric Gordon scored 24 points and his short jumper with 1.6 seconds left lifted Houston past Orlando for its fifth consecutive win.
Houston had dropped 15 straight before its winning streak.
Cole Anthony scored 26 points for the Magic, who have lost eight of nine.
