Warriors recover, edge Rockets
HOUSTON—Klay Thompson scored 38 points, Draymond Green had a triple-double and the Golden State Warriors overcame star Stephen Curry’s absence to beat the Houston Rockets, 114-110, on Thursday.
Golden State was blown out by Dallas on Wednesday night for just its second loss of the season when Curry missed his first game since March because of a sore left lower leg. But the Warriors were able to outlast the Rockets, thanks to the big night by Thompson, who made six three-pointers.
Green had a career-high 16 assists to go along with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
James Harden had 30 points for Houston, which has dropped seven straight regular-season games to Golden State. Dwight Howard had 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Shaun Livingston made his second start of the season in place of Curry, who was injured Monday night against Sacramento. Interim coach Luke Walton said Curry was feeling better Thursday, but was not ready to play.
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook had 36 points and 12 assists, and Oklahoma City held off Phoenix, 110-106, for the Suns’ seventh straight loss.
Kevin Durant scored 23 points for Oklahoma City, which has won three straight and 12 of 14.
The Suns had six players score in double figures. TJ Warren had 29 points and nine rebounds, and PJ Tucker scored 22 points.
Tyson Chandler, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, made a tying layup with 1:34 left. But Durant scored on a fadeaway jumper and got free for a dunk that made it 106-102 with 31.7 seconds remaining.
In New Orleans, JJ Redick scored 26 points for a second straight night, Chris Paul closed out a poor shooting performance with pivotal plays in the final minutes, and the Clippers capped an unbeaten five-game trip with a 9589 victory.
Paul missed 15 of his first 17 shots, but hit a 19-foot step-back jumper with a minute to go to give Los Angeles a 90-87 lead. Before and after that score, Paul assisted on baskets by Jamal Crawford. Paul, who finished with 12 assists, then added three free throws in the final 21 seconds.