SAN FRANCISCO, March 12 (BNA): Stephen Curry scores 36 points with 22 in the fourth quarter and overtime, sparkling in his first home game after a long injury layoff and leading the Golden State Warriors over Milwaukee, the NBA’s MVP . $125-116 on Saturday night.
Curry hit a tying three-pointer with 19 seconds left in regulation, then blocked a layup attempt by Jrue Holiday in the closing moments. The Warriors got the ball back with 1.9 seconds left and Curry rushed to Draymond Green, who fumbled from deep.
Holiday put Milwaukee in third place with 32.7 seconds to play and finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. But the Pax, who are playing without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, snapped a three-game winning streak after only their second defeat in 21 matches since Jan. 21, the Associated Press reports.
Thompson added 22 points, Donte DiVincenzo had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Warriors won their seventh consecutive home run and 11th in 12.
Chris Middleton scored 19 points and five assists, Bobby Portis contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Brook Lopez contributed 19 points and seven boards for Milwaukee.
Celtics 134, Falcons 125
ATLANTA: Jason Tatum led a balanced offense, scoring 11 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Boston held off Atlanta’s fourth-quarter attempt.
The Celtics opened a six-game trip with six players scoring in double digits. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points. Tatum added 15 rebounds.
Tra Young scored 35 points and 13 assists for Atlanta, who could not keep their momentum after the back-to-back win in Washington. The Hawks remain eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
With 1:25 left and Boston leading 129-121, Young and Marcus Smart had to be separated after the two tangled and fell down the court under a Celtics basket. Smart was called out for an initial foul before a lengthy review by officials called both players for technical fouls and Smart was sent off. Young made two free throws to narrow the lead to six points.
Clippers 106, KNICKS 95
LOS ANGELES (AP) Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat New York.
Paul George added 22 points for the Clippers, who won three in a row after losing five in a row.
It was Leonard’s seventh straight game with at least 21 points, and he’s averaging 31 points over that span. He also has four 30-point games over that span.
Emmanuel Kwekley scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell three straight after nine straight wins. Quickley started in place of Jalen Brunson, who was sidelined with a sore left foot. Julius Randle scored 19 goals despite shooting 5 of 24.
Packers 121, Pistons 115
DETROIT (AP) Jalen Smith scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana beat Detroit to extend the Pistons’ losing streak to 11 games.
Isaiah Jackson added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which improved to 5-2 in their last seven games.
Isaiah Livers had a career-high 18 points for Detroit, which fell to a league-worst 15-53. Killian Hayes scored 17 points and 13 assists.
The Pistons have lost five of their six leading scorers. Hayes was the only one in the lineup. The Pacers played without Tyrese Haliburton, Benedict Mathurin and Miles Turner.
Magic 126, Heat 114, Oct
Orlando: Wendell Carter scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Orlando rebounded from a fourth-quarter collapse to beat Miami in overtime.
Jimmy Butler scored 38 points for the Heat, including 15 in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter, when Miami overcame a 15-point deficit. Butler’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime.
The end of the fourth quarter included a wild sequence in which a Paolo Panchero foul on a three-point attempt by Butler with 14.5 seconds left was overturned by a replay.
Banchero scored 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Magic. Franz Wagner scored 17 points and eight rebounds before leaving with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter.
Fouad Abdel-Majid Abdel-Karim 119, Missiles 111
HOUSTON: Zach LaVine scored 36 points and DeMar DeRozan added 27 as Chicago used a big fourth quarter lead to lead the Rockets.
The Bulls trailed by four midway through the fourth before trailing 13-0 to take a 115-106 lead with two minutes remaining.
DeRozan, who recorded seven rebounds and five assists, scored the first four points of the race and LaVine scored the next four points. LaVine’s second basket came at that range on an alley from DeRozan, and former Rocket Patrick Beverley was capped by the 3-pointer.
And this is the second consecutive victory for the Bulls, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic and 16 points and 10 rebounds from Beverly. LaVine recorded nine rebounds and five assists.
Freshman Jabari Smith Jr. scored 20 points and 10 rebounds for the worst Western Conference team, the Rockets, who were relegated for the third time in a row.
Abdul Majeed Abdullah Abdullah Al-Mutairi 108
Memphis, Tenn. (AP) Rookie David Roddy scored 24 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, as Memphis beat Dallas.
Rudy connected on 7 of 8 shots in the fourth, including 3 of 4 from outside the arc. Desmond Bean led the Grizzlies with 25 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 14 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr. leads the Mavericks with 23 points, while Jaden Hardy finishes with 22. Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas.
Missing from the game were two of the NBA’s biggest stars, Luka Doncic of the Mavericks and Ja Morant of Memphis. Doncic has a left groin strain and Morant is walking away from the team after posting a video last weekend that appeared to show him showing a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
Thunder 110, Pelican 96
NEW ORLEANS: Shay Gilgos Alexander scored 35 points as Oklahoma City beat a undermanned New Orleans for their fourth win in five games.
Josh Gedi added 19 points, while Jalen Williams scored 17 points for the Thunder, who advanced in most of the competition, by 21 points in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander, who did not attempt a three-pointer, hit 11 of 23 shots and made all 13 of his free throws.
New Orleans was already struggling through the injury-exhausted absence of strong All-Star forward Zion Williamson, and also played without high-scoring winger Brandon Ingram, who entered the day as questionable after leaving Wednesday’s game with a sprained right ankle. CJ McCollum scored 26 points to lead the Pelicans.
Kings 128, Sun 119
PHOENIX: Harrison Barnes scored 19 points, D’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk each added 18, and Sacramento used a balanced effort to beat Phoenix and snap the Suns’ four-game winning streak.
The Kings lead 3 1/2 games ahead of the Suns for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff race. Domantas Sabonis scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Sacramento team, finishing 13-4.
The Suns were playing their second straight game without newly acquired superstar Kevin Durant, who injured his ankle during the warmup before Wednesday’s game. The team says he has a sprained left ankle and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Devin Booker scored 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting for Phoenix. DeAndre Ayton scored 22 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Paul added 16 points and had 16 assists.
119 Abeer Ali Abdullah Al-Hweiti 111
CHARLOTTE: Tallinn Horton Tucker scored a season-high 37 points and had 10 assists and eight rebounds as Utah defeated Charlotte for its second straight win.
Walker Kessler added 17 points and 16 rebounds and Kelly Olynyk scored 17 as the Jazz beat the Hornets 60-43. Lauri Markkanen scored 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Kelly Ober Jr. scored 24 points and Terry Rozier added 22 for the Hornets, who snapped a two-game winning streak.
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