DeRozan, Spurs win 9th straight
SAN ANTONIO — DeMar DeRozan had 26 points and nine rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points and 13 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 111-105 for their ninth straight win.
San Antonio won its 11th straight at home and moved into fifth in the Western Conference at 42-29 following Oklahoma City’s loss to Miami.
Stephen Curry had 25 points after a slow start and Kevin Durant added 24 for Golden State, which entered the game having won two straight. The Warriors have dropped into a tie with Denver for first place in the West with matching 47-22 records.
There were nine ties in the intense matchup between the West’s best and the league’s hottest team.
After tailing by 11 in the third quarter, the Warriors’ offense awoke to silence the sold-out crowd with a 16-5 run to forge a 75-all tie. The run included a shakedown, step-back 3-pointer by Curry and a pair of quick passes from Curry to Draymond Green to Shaun Livingston for an emphatic dunk.
DeRozan scored 10 points in the final quarter, including a pair of pull-up jumpers over Thompson, to seal the victory.
NUGGETS 114, CELTICS 105
Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 13 rebounds and visiting Denver rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Boston.
Will Barton added 20 points for the Nuggets, who clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2012-13. They have won four straight.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 30 points. Al Horford finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists.
RAPTORS 128, KNICKS 92
Jeremy Lin scored 20 points, Fred VanVleet had 13 points and 12 assists, and Toronto beat visiting New York.
The victory came at a cost to the Raptors, who saw guard Kyle Lowry leave in the third quarter after suffering an injured right ankle. Lowry who had 15 points and eight assists in 26 minutes, was back in the lineup after missing the previous two games because of a sore left ankle.
HEAT 116, THUNDER 107
Goran Dragic had 26 points and 11 assists, Dwyane Wade added 25 points and Miami took advantage of Russell Westbrook’s absence to beat host Oklahoma City.
Westbrook picked up his NBA-leading 16th technical foul in a loss to Golden State on Saturday, earning himself an automatic one-game suspensio.
PELICANS 129 MAVS 125 (OT)
Dirk Nowitzki passed Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA's career scoring list, but Elfrid Payton had his fifth straight triple-double to help visiting New Orleans Pelicans beat Dallas in overtime.
Payton finished with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
BLAZERS 106, PACERS 98
Damian Lillard scored 30 points and dished out 15 assists as six players scored in double-digits for host Portland in a win over Indiana.
JAZZ 116, WIZARDS 95
Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 19 and Utah won its fourth straight by beating host Washington.
CAVALIERS 126 PISTONS 119
Collin Sexton scored 27 points, including the goahead 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play, and host Cleveland defeated Detroit.
BULLS 116, SUNS 101
Robin Lopez scored 24 points to help visiting Chicago beat Phoenix, snapping a five-game losing streak.