Warriors thump Cavaliers in NBA Finals rematch
OAKLAND: Draymond Green had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors got defensive in their NBA Finals rematch against Cleveland, beating the Cavaliers 89-83 on Friday. Stephen Curry added 19 points and Klay Thompson had 18 for the Warriors, who improved to 28-1 by winning their 32nd straight regularseason home game. Instead of doing it with 3pointers, defending champion Golden State maintained its edge over Cleveland by limiting the Cavaliers to 32 percent shooting. LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers. They had their six-game winning streak snapped. The Cavaliers were short-handed when they lost the final to the Warriors in six games, missing power forward Kevin Love the entire series with a shoulder injury and losing point guard Kyrie Irving to a knee injury late in the first game. Having both those players healthy for the rematch did little to help Cleveland. Love scored just 10 points on 5for-16 shooting, and Irving missed 11 of 15 shots in a 13-point game.
CLIPPERS 94, LAKERS 84
Chris Paul scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers to end a three-game skid. Kobe Bryant scored 12 points for the Lakers in his NBA-record 16th and final Christmas Day game. He played 26 minutes and sat out the entire fourth quarter. J.J. Redick had 14 points, and DeAndre Jordan added nine points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers. They have won eight straight against the Lakers and 12 of the last 13 meetings. Rookie D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 16 points.
HEAT 94, PELICANS 88, OT
Chris Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 19 points to move into No. 3 on the NBA’s Christmas Day list and Miami survived some shaky moments to beat New Orleans. Hassan Whiteside grabbed 17 rebounds for the Heat, an NBA-best 10-2 on the holiday. Wade’s tough jumper with 1:45 left in overtime gave him 273 points on Christmas, one more than Shaquille O’Neal for No. 3, and Bosh followed that about a minute later with a three-point play. Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 29 points and 15 rebounds. But he missed a contested jumper on New Orleans’ final possession of regulation, and the Heat took control in the extra session.
James Harden had 20 points and the Houston Rockets slowed down the soaring San Antonio Spurs with an 88-84 victory Friday night. The improved Houston defense held the Spurs to a season low in points to snap their season-best seven-game winning streak. Houston used an 8-2 run to take a 78-71 lead with about 5 minutes left. Toronto NY Knicks Brooklyn Philadelphia
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ROCKETS 88, SPURS 84
Tim Duncan made a hook shot after that, but Harden hit a 3-pointer. After Duncan’s layup, Harden brought the crowd to its feet with an offbalance 3-pointer from the corner that made it 84-75. Kawhi Leonard had 20 points to lead San Antonio.
BULLS 105, THUNDER 96
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, and Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds in Chicago’s victory over Oklahoma City. Derrick Rose added 19 points, and Taj Gibson had 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bulls snap a three-game losing streak. Kevin Durant had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Thunder had won three straight and nine of 10. — AP