Warriors rout Timberwolves in Shanghai
Stephen Curry finished off his China trip with a performance ripped right out of his MVP highlight reel.
Curry scored 40 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 142-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in Shanghai for a split of their two-game series in China.
It was the Warriors’ first win of the preseason and came like so many of their victories of the last three years, filled with Curry’s incredible shot-making and playmaking.
The 2015 and 2016 NBA MVP was 13 for 20 from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and added eight assists.
Klay Thompson added eight 3-pointers and 28 points, while former Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant scored 22.
Andrew Wiggins had 19 points for Minnesota, which won’t play again in the preseason.
Cavs rest nearly all of their regulars, lose 102-94 vs. Wizards
Bradley Beal scored 11 points in limited action and the Wizards improved to 3-0 for the preseason after beating the Cavaliers 102-94 Sunday in Washington.
The Cavaliers rested LeBron James and nearly all their regulars in Washington and fell to 0-3. Former Thunder forward Jeff Green had a series of dunks and led Cleveland with 19 points.
Also sitting for Cleveland were Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Jae Crowder and Tristan Thompson. Kay Felder started at guard and had 12 points and 11 assists. Kyle Korver had 11 points and Turkish rookie Cedi Osman finished with six points, six assists and five rebounds.
Beal played nine minutes and fellow guard John Wall logged just 7 Jodie Meeks and Carrick Felix scored 12 points off the bench to pace Washington.
Trail Blazers score 70 points in first half, beat Clippers 134-106
Damian Lillard scored 35 points, CJ McCollum added 20 and Portland rang up 70 points in the first half in Los Angeles, leading to a 134-106 win against the Clippers on Sunday.
Former OU star Blake Griffin and Serbian star Milos Teodosic each scored 15 for the Clippers.
Lillard was 13 for 13 from the free throw line. He and McCollum each made four 3-pointers. Maurice Harkless was 6 for 6 off the bench and scored 16 points. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Teodosic made four 3-pointers despite dislocating his left pinkie finger and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Danilo Gallinari (left midfoot sprain), Austin Rivers (strained right glute) and Sam Dekker (strained left oblique) sat out for the Clippers.
Harris, Nuggets reportedly agree to 4-year, $84 million extension
Two people with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press that guard Gary Harris has agreed to an $84 million, four-year contract extension with the Denver Nuggets that will begin for the 2018-19 season.
The people spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because the team had not disclosed the deal. ESPN first reported the agreement. The deal guarantees $74 million with an addition $10 million available through bonuses.
The 23-year Harris is coming off a season in which he averaged 14.9 points and 2.9 assists for a Nuggets team that narrowly missed the playoffs. He’s an integral part of the Nuggets’ plans, along with center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray.
Harris was taken with the 19th overall pick in 2014