MORANT WINS BATTLE WITH CURRY
Ja Morant scored 29 points, including five in the final minute, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the visiting Golden State Warriors 116-108 Tuesday night for their 10th straight win.
“I just like having that pressure,” Morant said of his scoring down the stretch. “I feel like that’s when I shine the most. I like to be the one taking that shot, hit or miss.”
Ziaire Williams and Tyus Jones had 17 points each, Williams recording a season-high in points. Jones keyed a fourth-quarter rally that put the Grizzlies ahead for good. He finished 6 for 8 from the field, including connecting on all five of his 3-point attempts.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season. Klay Thompson finished with 14 points. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II scored 13 each.
The teams had a closely played game in the second half until consecutive 3pointers by Jones gave Memphis a 109-100 lead with 3:33 left to play. That was enough of a buffer for the Grizzlies to keep their franchise-record win streak going. Memphis held Golden State to 18 points in the fourth quarter.
“I thought Tyus Jones shooting 3s broke the game open. That was the key,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
The Grizzlies were the ones connecting from 3point range in the first half, hitting 8 of their first 13 from outside the arc. That allowed Memphis to build an 18-point lead in the second quarter, putting the Warriors in catch up mode from that point on.
“It was just turnovers early in the game, and that gave them a lot of confidence,” said Curry, who was 8 of 21 shooting, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range.
Grizzlies interim coach Darko Rajakovic noted it wasn’t just Williams’ offensive output, but the rookie from Stanford also had the job of guarding Curry from the opening tip. Rajakovic noted that Curry averages 14 3-pointers a game, but only took nine in the game.
Suns 99, Raptors 95: Devin Booker scored 16 points, including the goahead basket with 1:02 remaining, and Chris Paul had 15 points and 12 assists as visiting Phoenix beat Toronto to snap the Raptors’ longest winning streak of the season at six games. Jae Crowder scored 19 points, Deandre Ayton had 16 and Mikal Bridges added 12 as the Suns improved to 31-9, matching the franchise’s
best record through 40 games.
Bulls 133, Pistons 87: Nikola Vucevic scored 22 points, DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and host Chicago routed Detroit. DeRozan sat for most of the final 16 minutes but still added seven assists.
Wizards 122, Thunder 118: Kentavious CaldwellPope hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.8 seconds remaining and Washington beat visiting Oklahoma City despite being without star Bradley Beal because of health and safety protocols. Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 29 points, and Spencer Dinwiddie had 22 points and 10 assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, including two straight layups that tied it at 118.
Pelicans 128, Timberwolves
125: Brandon Ingram capped a 33-point, nine-assist performance by hitting three 3-pointers in the final 1:13 — the last with less than a second left — and host New Orleans edged Minnesota. Ingram went 6 for 7 from 3-point territory and his most pivotal shots came in a long-range exchange with Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, whose fifth 3 of the game cut New Orleans’ lead to 117-115 before Ingram hit from the right wing while being fouled for a four-point play.
Clippers 87, Nuggets 85: Amir Coffey had 18 points, seven assists and four steals as host Los Angeles rallied to defeat Denver. The Clippers won the fourth quarter 32-19 after scoring 28 points in the first half and trailing by 13. Aaron Gordon (30) and Nikola Jokic had 51 of the Nuggets’ points.