Curry lifts Warriors over Cavs; Thunder roar

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Stephen Curry scored 42 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 129-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in an NBA Finals rematch in name only.

Curry drained nine three-pointers and Kevin Durant added 25 points on nine of 16 shooting as the Warriors pulled away in the second half against a Cleveland team that bears little resemblance to the LeBron James-led Cavs that battled the Warriors in the last four championship series.

Curry, looking fully recovered in his third game back from a groin injury that sidelined him for 11 games, added nine rebounds and seven assists. Durant pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out nine assists.

The Warriors were back in Cleveland for the first time since June, when they beat the Cavs to win their second straight NBA title and third in four years.

They finished the night half a game in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who erased a 23-point deficit with less than five minutes to play to beat the Brooklyn Nets 114-112.

The Los Angeles Clippers, who came into the night tied for the lead in the West, fell a game behind the Nuggets with a 96-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

In Los Angeles, LeBron James scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-113.

In Toronto, Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 of his 26 in the fourth quarter as the Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 113-102.