Warriors trounce Mavericks as Jimmy Butler makes home debut
Stephen Curry had 16 of his game-high 30 points in the third quarter, Jimmy Butler celebrated his home debut in front of his new fans with 18 points and the Golden State Warriors blitzed the Dallas Mavericks 126-102 on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.
Brandin Podziemski chipped in with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Warriors, who retired Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 jersey in a postgame ceremony.
Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington tossed in 17 points apiece to pace the Mavericks, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end as news-making acquisition Anthony Davis sat out a fifth consecutive contest with an adductor strain.
After Dallas scored nine of the game’s first 13 points, the Warriors dominated, building a 33-18 margin by the end of the first period.
The visitors were within 61-47 after Klay Thompson nailed a 3-pointer in the first minute of the second half, but then Curry took over, reaching the 30-point mark for the 13th time this season by the end of the period.
Curry did not play in the fourth quarter, yet retained game-high assist honors with seven. He made 12 of his 20 shots and three of his eight 3-point attempts.
Butler, whose first five games for Golden State had been on the road, made all eight of his free throws on a day when he also contributed five assists, three rebounds and a steal to the winning cause. The Warriors, who completed a 2-2 season-series tie with the defending Western Conference champs, are 5-1 since Butler’s addition.
Moses Moody added 14 points and Quinten Post 10 for the Warriors, while Draymond Green had 13 to complement six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Golden State shot 48.0 percent and outrebounded the Mavericks 54-41.
Thompson, making his third appearance in San Francisco since agreeing to a sign-and-trade deal in the offseason, overcame a scoreless first half to drill three of his trademark 3-pointers. He finished with 11 points, as did Jaden Hardy.
Kessler Edwards was Dallas’ leading rebounder with eight.
Celtics hold off Knicks, extend win streak to five
Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to five games with a 118-105 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Sunday.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who have also won nine of their past 10. Boston received 19 points from Derrick White, 15 from Kristaps Porzingis and 14 from Jrue Holiday. White, who was 5 of 6 from 3-point range, also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
New York, which trailed by 27 in the third quarter, was within four points following a Karl-Anthony Towns 3-pointer with 11:32 to play, but the Celtics pulled away to lead by 20 with 3:54 remaining.
The Celtics entered the game second in the Eastern Conference standings, three games ahead of the third-place Knicks. Boston made 17 of 44 shots from 3-point range and outrebounded New York 49-40.
Towns led New York with 24 points and 18 rebounds. He left the game with an apparent leg injury midway through the fourth quarter but returned minutes later. Jalen Brunson tossed in 22 points for the Knicks.
Josh Hart returned after missing New York’s last two games with a knee injury. He had 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes. Mikal Bridges (14) and OG Anunoby (10) also scored in double figures for New York.
The Knicks are 0-3 against the Celtics this season.
The Celtics led 38-19 after one quarter and 64-43 at halftime. Boston’s 21-point halftime advantage was its largest lead in the first half, when the Knicks shot 16 of 48 from the field (33.3 percent).
Boston led 77-50 after Tatum made a 3-pointer with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter, but the Knicks scored 23 of the next 28 points to trim their deficit to nine points. Brunson capped the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer that sliced Boston’s lead to 89-82 entering the fourth. Brunson scored 15 of his 22 points in the third.
Magic hand short-handed Wizards their sixth straight loss
Anthony Black matched his career high with 23 points and Franz Wagner also scored 23 as the Orlando Magic dominated the second half in a 110-90 win over the visiting Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Paolo Banchero added 19 points for Orlando, which led by as many as 26 and won its eighth straight meeting against the Wizards. Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze each contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
Orlando led by two at the half before opening the third quarter on a 22-6 run. The Magic maintained control and cruised to their fourth win in their last six games.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 16 points. Bub Carrington scored 13 points, Tristan Vukcevic added 12, Bilal Coulibaly had 11, and Richaun Holmes finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Orlando forced 20 turnovers and held Washington to 41 percent from the field, including 26.3 percent (10 of 38) from 3-point range.
The short-handed Wizards lost their sixth straight and fell to a league-worst 9-47.
Washington played without Khris Middleton (ankle injury management), Alexandre Sarr (sprained left ankle), Marcus Smart (right index finger) and Malcolm Brogdon (sprained left ankle).
Washington led 29-27 after a physical first quarter that featured a combined total of 22 foul shots.
Wagner and Banchero combined for 25 points in the first half to help Orlando take a 49-47 lead at intermission. Both teams shot under 41 percent from the field for the half.
After a first half that featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, Orlando quickly took control at the start of the third quarter.
Banchero’s 3-pointer capped a 22-6 run to open the third period and put the Magic ahead 71-53 with 7:02 left in the quarter.
Orlando held an 81-64 advantage at the end of the third quarter and pushed its lead to 90-69 after Banchero converted a three-point play with 8:15 left in regulation.
The Magic rested their starters with a 94-72 lead and six minutes left in the contest.
Pelicans rally to rout Spurs
Zion Williamson scored 22 points, Kelly Olynyk had a double-double and the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs 114-96 on Sunday night.
Olynyk, playing just his second game with the Pelicans since being acquired in a trade with Toronto, finished with 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Karlo Matkovic scored a season-high 19 points, Trey Murphy III had 15, CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado added 12 each and Jordan Hawkins scored 10 for the Pelicans.
Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie scored 18 each for the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes had 13 each and Bismack Biyombo added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who were outscored 74-43 in the second half.
Barnes made two 3-pointers, Chris Paul made one and the Spurs extended their lead to 64-47 early in the third quarter.
Then Murphy made a 3-pointer and Olynyk added four free throws during a 13-0 run that pulled the Pelicans within four points.
San Antonio scored the next six points and led by as many as 11 before New Orleans made another push. Matkovic and Murphy had two field goals each and the Pelicans got within 79-75 at the end of the third quarter.
Williamson scored six points and Alvarado had four during New Orleans’ 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter, which produced an 88-79 lead. Barnes made a layup for the Spurs’ first points nearly five minutes into the period, but the Pelicans scored the next four points for a 92-81 lead and cruised the rest of the way.
Champagnie made three 3-pointers, the last of which beat the quarter buzzer, and San Antonio held a 30-26 lead at the end of the first period. Champagnie made another 3-pointer to start the second-quarter scoring and the Spurs scored the first eight points of the period.
Alvarado made a 3-pointer for the Pelicans’ first points before Champagnie made a 3-pointer, Biyombo converted a three-point play and Barnes added a 3-pointer as San Antonio expanded the lead to 17 points.
McCollum scored New Orleans’ last five points as it trimmed the lead to 53-40 at halftime.
Cavs fend off Grizzlies, stretch win streak to 7
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their seventh straight game, beating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 129-123 on Sunday night.
Sixth man Ty Jerome added 26 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and Evan Mobley posted 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 22 points for Memphis, Ja Morant paired 20 points with 10 assists and Luke Kennard contributed 19 points off the bench.
The Cavaliers led for most of the evening before their 11-point fourth-quarter advantage was sliced to 124-121 with 42 seconds remaining.
Jackson missed a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left, before Mitchell and Max Strus iced it from the foul line for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers, who were without guard Darius Garland with a left hip contusion, misfired with 2 of 15 3-pointers in the first quarter but a 21-7 rebounding advantage saw them lead 33-29 heading into the second frame.
Cleveland had 10 offensive rebounds for the period and outscored Memphis 10-0 on second-chance points, with Mobley particularly active on the glass.
The Grizzlies scored the first seven points of the second quarter before the Cavs rallied through Mitchell, who had 22 first-half points.
Strus’s bomb on the halftime horn was the first successful three from 10 attempts by any Cleveland player other than Mitchell, and gave the Cavaliers a 62-56 buffer.
Rookie Jaylen Wells knocked down his first four 3-point attempts and the Grizzlies inched into the lead before Mitchell, Mobley and Isaac Okoro restored order for the home side.
A loose-ball wrestle at ground level between Mitchell and Desmond Bane resulted in offsetting double technicals. Those two players were penalized, as were Morant and Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson for getting involved.
The Cavaliers’ 12-5 third-quarter rebounding advantage helped them lead 93-88 going into the fourth.
Jerome caught fire with 14 of Cleveland’s first 17 points of the final period as the Cavs’ advantage grew to double digits.