On top again
Warriors reclaim top seed in West; Jazz rip James-less Lakers
MEMPHIS— Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant each scored 28 points, with Durant going 12-for13 from the field, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 118-103, on Wednesday night to take sole possession of the Western Conference lead.
Curry also had 10 rebounds, and DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Warriors break a tie with idle Denver for the top spot in the West.
Jonas Valanciunas led Memphis with 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 22 points to take the franchise’s career scoring lead, and added eight assists. Bruno Caboclo had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Durant scored seven straight points in a 9-0 run that made it 100-92 midway through the fourth quarter.
In Salt Lake City, Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick Favors scored 20 and Joe Ingles nearly posted his first triple-double to power Utah over depleted Los Angeles.
Jae Crowder scored 16 points and the balanced Jazz, with seven players in double figures, wonfor the eighth time in nine games.
Six weeks ago, Ingles went public with the news that his 2year-old son was diagnosed with autism. Since then, he has been a vocal advocate for funding and awareness. Playing on Autism Awareness Night, he set a career high with 14 assists and added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma paced the Lakers with 21 points. JaVale McGee had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Los Angeles had won consecutive games for the first time since January but wasn’t competitive from the start without LeBron James in this one. James sat out after he had 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds Tuesday night against Washington. He’s been dealing with a swollen knee and sore groin.
In Oklahoma City, Paul George scored 31 points against his former team, and Oklahoma City had a 24-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from Indiana.
Steven Adams had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 17 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 29th triple-double of the season. The Thunder won for only the second time in seven games.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points for Indiana, and Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
In Phoenix, Devin Booker became the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 50-point games, but his latest scoring binge was wasted once again by last-place Phoenix in a loss to Washington.
Thomas Bryant’s three-point play with 2.8 seconds left put the Wizards ahead for good in a backand-forth game. Bryant caught Bradley Beal’s pass off a baseline drive and dropped in the winning layup while getting fouled. After he added the free throw, Phoenix had one more chance to tie, but Troy Daniels missed a threepointer from the corner just before the final buzzer.
The 22-year-old Booker finished with 50 points and 10 rebounds as the Suns, with the worst record in the Western Conference at 17-59, dropped their fifth straight.
Booker scored 59 points in a 125-92 loss Monday night in Utah.
It was the first time a Phoenix player reached 50 in back-to-back games. Tom Chambers had been the only member of the Suns to score even 40 in successive games.