Durant leads Warriors over Utah as Cavs fall to Kings

WASHINGTON: Kevin Durant (pic) scored 21 points to lead six double-figure scorers for defending NBA champion Golden State and the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter to beat Utah 126-101.

The Warriors hit 33-of-46 shots in the second half, outscoring the Jazz 42-22 in the third quarter to blow open a close game in which Durant – who added six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots –didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

“Utah played really physical and they played defence like we hadn’t seen before,” Durant said.

“We knew in the second half they would tire out because they were moving around a lot so we stayed with our offence and in the third quarter we started pulling away.”

Pat McCaw added a season-high 18 points off the bench while Klay Thompson and Nick Young each scored 15 points for the Warriors, who own the NBA’s best record at 28-7.

Rodney Hood scored 26 off the bench to lead Utah.

Sacramento’s Vince Carter came off the bench to score 24 points and fellow reserve Willie Cauley-Stein added 17 points and nine rebounds to power the host Kings over the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-95.

LeBron James compiled a triple double in a losing cause with 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds while Kevin Love scored a teamhigh 23 points as every Cavalier who played also scored.

Tyreke Evans scored 32 points and added seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies over the host Los Angeles Lakers 109-99. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 23 points.

Oklahoma City’s win streak reached six games as Paul George scored 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 13 assists in the Thunder’s 124-107 home triumph.

“We took the shots that were good for us,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.

Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams each added 18 points for the Thunder (20-15) while C.J. Miles led Toronto (23-10) with 20 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 16.

Kyrie Irving scored 21 points and passed out eight assists for the Boston Celtics in a 102-91 victory at Charlotte. Al Horford added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who lead the Eastern Conference at 28-10. —