Warriors lose Durant and game
Even after Kevin Durant injured his left knee and departed only 93 seconds in, and even after Golden State trailed by as many as 19 points, and even after Stephen Curry’s drought from behind the arc stretched to 14 attempts over two games, the NBA-best Warriors had a pretty good chance to take the lead late.
That’s because Curry caught the Wizards trying to made a defensive switch, so he let fly on a potential go-ahead 3-pointer from 31 feet away with less than 10 seconds left last night and the Warriors trailing by two in Washington.
“A shot I normally make, so I was confident,” Curry said. “You live for those moments. You live with the result.”
He missed. Markieff Morris grabbed the rebound, then made a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining, capping his 22-point night and clinching Washington’s 112-108 victory despite Curry’s 25 points.
Durant hyperextended his knee when teammate Zaza Pachulia fell into him after getting pushed by Washington center Marcin Gortat. Golden State’s leading scorer and rebounder — who exited with zero points, ending his streak of 562 regular-season games with at least 10 — will have an MRI exam today. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 25 points. Morris was fined $25,000 by the NBA for throwing a basketball at an official and into the seats in Sunday’s game.
A person familiar with the Wizards’ plans told The Associated Press the team intends to sign guard Brandon Jennings if he clears waivers. Jennings was waived by the Knicks on Monday.
Thunder 109, Jazz 106 — Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 43 points in the final 2:05 to help host Oklahoma City beat Utah.
Westbrook also had 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 30th triple-double of the season and 67th of his career. It was his fourth straight triple-double, and the team’s fourth consecutive win.
Pistons 120, Trail Blazers 113 — In Auburn Hills, Mich., Marcus Morris scored a career-high 37 points, including his team’s first seven in overtime, and Detroit rallied from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Portland.
Damian Lillard had 34 points and 11 rebounds for Portland while falling an assist shy of his first triple-double.
Grizzlies 130, Suns 112 — Mike Conley scored 29 points and Marc Gasol added 28 while making all five of his 3-point shots to lead host Memphis past Phoenix.
Zach Randolph finished with 23 points and eight rebounds as Memphis shot 56 percent.
Nuggets 125, Bulls 107 — Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, and visiting Denver beat Chicago.
Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points and Wilson Chandler added 20 as Denver, which entered the game fourth in the NBA in scoring (110.6 points per game), posted a 70-48 advantage in the second half to erase a halftime deficit.
Hornets 109, Lakers 104 — Kemba Walker scored 30 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:55 to play, and visiting Charlotte rallied late to beat struggling Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in the NBA — DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans has been suspended one game without pay for drawing his 18th technical foul of the season.