Curry breaks out of slump, helps Warriors defeat Suns

PHOENIX >> Stephen Curry shook off a poor shooting performance by scoring 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Golden State Warriors finally broke open a tight game to beat the Phoenix Suns 117-107 on Friday night.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points for the Warriors, who beat the Suns for the 18th consecutive time. Kevin Durant added 21 points and DeMarcus Cousins 18.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 25 points and Deandre Ayton 23 for Phoenix, which was without scoring leader Devin Booker due to a tight right hamstring.

Mikal Bridges and Josh Jackson added 19 apiece for the Suns, who led 85-82 entering the final quarter.

Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected after drawing his second technical between the third and fourth quarters.

The matchup of the teams at the top and bottom of the Western Conference standings was a lot closer than anticipated — and in large part because it took Curry a while to find his stroke.

Through three quarters, Curry was 2-of-12 shooting, including 1 of 8 on 3-pointers. But in the fourth quarter, he was 4 of 5, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

PISTONS 120, KNICKS 103 >> Andre Drummond had 29 points and 20 rebounds and Detroit handed New York its 15th straight loss.

Blake Griffin scored 26 points for the Pistons, who traded Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson in deadline deals but kept enough of their top players to make a postseason berth still plausible.

BUCKS 122, MAVERICKS 107 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 17 rebounds and Milwaukee rolled to its sixth straight victory, beating retooling Dallas.

WIZARDS 119, CAVALIERS 106 >> Bobby Portis scored 30 points in his Washington debut, Bradley Beal added 25 points and 12 assists, and the Wizards beat Cleveland.

BULLS 125, NETS 106 >> Lauri Markkanen had 31 points and 18 rebounds to lead Chicago past Brooklyn.