Warriors lose Durant to injury, game to Wizards
WASHINGTON >> Kevin Durant injured his left knee and departed after only 93 seconds, Golden State trailed by as many as 19 points in the first quarter, and Stephen Curry missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer late, all leading to a 112-108 victory for the Washington Wizards, who got a career high-tying 19 assists from John Wall on Tuesday night.
Durant hyperextended his knee and will have an MRI exam after teammate Zaza Pachulia was pushed into him by Washington center Marcin Gortat. The 2014 NBA MVP and Golden State’s leading scorer and rebounder exited with zero points, ending his streak of 562 regular-season games with at least 10 points.
Bradley Beal scored 25 points and Markieff Morris added 22, including a pair of free throws after Curry’s 3 was off-target in the final 10 seconds.
Washington had broken a 108-all tie when Otto Porter made two foul shots after being fouled by Curry on a putback attempt with 17.5 seconds remaining.
Curry scored 25 points but made only 2 of 9 tries from behind the arc. He started 0 for 3, making him 0 for 14 after missing all 11 tries in a win at the Philadelphia 76ers a night earlier. 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 Memphis past Phoenix.
Zach Randolph finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Tony Allen had 11 points as Memphis shot 56 percent, including 12 of 25 from outside the arc. The 130 points were a season high for Memphis, which won its second straight. PISTONS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 113 >> Marcus Morris scored a career-high 37 points, including Detroit’s first seven in overtime, and the Pistons rallied from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Portland.
Ish Smith had 12 points, seven assists and seven steals for the Pistons. The backup point guard was scoreless heading into the fourth quarter but gave Detroit a huge lift down the stretch. THUNDER 109, JAZZ 106 >> Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 43 points in the final 2:05 to help 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.
Doug McDermott scored 16 points and Enes Kanter added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who trimmed Utah’s Central Division lead to two games. NUGGETS 125, BULLS 107>> Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, and Denver rode a second-half surge to a victory over 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.