FINALLY, THE REAL STEPH STEPS UP
Stephen Curry breaks out of shooting slump, scores 31 over the New York Knicks, and Warriors snap two-game losing skid
Stephen Curry broke out of a shooting slump with 31 points and moved into the top 10 on the NBA’s career 3-point list as the Golden State Warriors recovered from consecutive losses to beat the New York Knicks 112-105 on Sunday.
Klay Thompson added 29 points to help the Warriors end their first regular-season losing streak in nearly two years.
The Splash Brothers had dried up as Golden State dropped two in a row following Kevin Durant’s knee injury, but they regained their touch Sunday. Curry hit five 3-pointers, passing Chauncey Billups for 10th place, and added eight rebounds and six assists.
Thompson had a 3-pointer and two other baskets during a late surge that allowed Golden State to pull away after leading by one midway through the fourth quarter.
Derrick Rose scored 28 points, and Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks.
In Phoenix, Rookie Tyler Ulis threw in a 3-pointer at the buzzer after a Boston turnover and the Phoenix Suns came away with a wild victory, 109-106, ovre the Celtics.
The Suns’ Eric Bledsoe tied it at 106 with a reverse layup with four seconds to play.
Isaiah Thomas, who scored 35 points but missed a free throw with 11.9 seconds left, took the inbounds pass and the Suns’ Marquese Chriss knocked the ball away. Ulis, listed at 5-foot-10 but probably not that tall, grabbed it and tossed it up as the buzzer sounded.
Ulis scored a career-best 20 points. Bledsoe had 28 to help the Suns win three in a row for the first time this season.
In Sacramento, Rudy Gobert tipped in George Hill’s missed jumper as time expired in overtime on a play that was initially ruled goaltending, lifting the Utah Jazz to a thrilling victory over Sacramento, 110109 .
After Willie Cauley-Stein made two free throws to give the Kings a 109-108 lead with 8.9 seconds remaining, Hill took an off-balance jumper from just outside the key. Gobert, positioned underneath the hoop, reached up and tipped the ball in as the buzzer sounded.
One official initially called goaltending on Gobert. But after a meeting near midcourt, the referees went to the scorer’s table to review the play and counted the basket. /