Warriors keep firing on all cylinders
OA KLAND , California – The Golden State Warriors moved within one victory of matching the best start in NBA history by beating Chicago 106-94 on Friday and improving to 14-0.
Stephen Curry scored 27 points for the Warriors, who will match the record with victory at Denver on Sunday. The Nuggets blew a 17-point lead on their home court and lost to Phoenix.
Dallas extended its winning streak to six by beating Utah, and closed within half a game of Southwest Division leader San Antonio.
The Jazz missed a chance to go top of the Northwest Division and remained half a game behind Oklahoma City, which was beaten at home by New York.
Golden State’s Harrison Barnes added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors in a game featuring 18 lead changes and 17 ties.
The league’s last undefeated team ran its franchise-record home winning streak to 26 games by beating Chicago; the last visiting team to win at Oracle Arena during the regular season, back in January.
Golden State equaled the 1957-58 Celtics as the only defending champions to win their initial 14 games. Jimmy Butler had 28 points for the Bulls. Dallas’ Deron Williams scored a season-high 23 points against his old team as the Mavericks beat Utah 102-93.
Dirk Nowitzki had 19 for Dallas, going 8 of 12 from the field and making all three of his 3-point attempts.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points for the Jazz. New York hung on for a 93-90 win against fast-finishing Oklahoma City.
The Thunder rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters’ potential tying shot rattled out at the buzzer.
Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Arron Afflalo added 14 points for the Knicks.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 34 points, but the NBA’s No. 3 scorer made just 11 of 29 shots and went 2 of 10 on 3-pointers.
Phoenix’s Brandon Knight scored a career-high 38 points as the Suns overran Denver and won 114-107.
The Suns trailed most of the game but went ahead early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run
Knight scored 17 points in the fourth to lead the comeback, while Eric Bledsoe finished with 22. Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay had a career-high 26 points for the Nuggets.
Memphis notched a fourth straight win by defeating struggling Houston 96-84.
Mike Conley scored 26 points, while Marc Gasol had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Grizzlies.
James Harden led the Rockets with 22 points, but missed six of his seven shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets have lost five of their past six, going 1-1 since Kevin McHale was fired and J.B. Bickerstaff took over as interim coach.