Sixers fail to cool down hot Curry
Clarkson leads Jazz past depleted Lakers
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Steph Curry extended his scoring streak with an electrifying 49-point display as the Golden State Warriors upset the Philadelphia 76ers 107-96 yesterday.
Curry, who scored 47 points in a defeat to Boston on Saturday, bagged his 11th straight game with 30 points or more to give the Warriors a crucial victory in their fight for a playoff berth.
It was another spellbinding performance from the Warriors talisman, who is fast becoming the frontrunner for this season's NBA Most Valuable Player award with an average of 31.4 points per game.
Curry's 49 points included 10 three-pointers — five of them coming during a 20-point blast of scoring in the final quarter.
Curry's latest masterpiece left Golden State coach Steve Kerr struggling to find adequate superlatives.
"I don't know what else to say," Kerr said of Curry. "When you guys ask me after every game what I think of Steph and his performance, well, whatever
I said after the last game — just use that.
"Because it's the same thing after every game — utter amazement at this guy's skill level, heart, mind and focus. Just amazing to watch."
Kerr described Curry's record of three-point scoring as "mindboggling stuff" that put the 33year-old in a league of his own in NBA history as far as shooting was concerned.
"Kobe Bryant earlier in his career had a stretch, and obviously Michael Jordan had some stretches where he scored like crazy," Kerr said.
"But nobody's ever shot the ball like this in the history of the game. And even by Steph's own lofty standards, this is above and beyond."
The Sixers' scoring was led by Joel Embiid, who had 28 points with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Curry's younger brother Seth finished with 15 points for the Sixers, while Matisse Thybulle added 13.
Elsewhere, Devin Booker's free throw with 0.3 seconds of overtime remaining helped the Phoenix Suns squeeze a 128-127 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum.
The game ended in controversy, with P.J. Tucker adjudged to have fouled Booker to set up the winning free-throw for the Suns just when a second period of overtime loomed.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks' scoring with 33 points, while Khris Middleton finished with 26 and Jrue Holiday 25.
In Denver, Nikola Jokic erupted for 47 points as the Nuggets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 139-137 in double overtime.
Jokic added 15 rebounds and eight assists while Will Barton had 28 points as the Nuggets improved to 37-20 to remain fourth in the West.
Utah meanwhile maintained their lead at the top of the West with a comfortable 111-97 win over the depleted Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.
Jordan Clarkson led the Utah scorers with 22 off the bench as the Jazz cruised to an emphatic victory.