Red-hot Curry’s late blitz lifts Warriors past Celtics
OAKLAND: Stephen Curry scored 49 points with 13 of those over the final 1:42 minutes and hit eight three-pointers, lifting the Golden State Warriors past the Boston Celtics 109-105 on Saturday night in what is already being hyped as a potential NBA Finals match-up come June.
Curry made a go-ahead three with 1:42 minutes to play, scored on a driving lay-up the next time down before eight late free throws. He also made three of his threepointers over the final 4:20 minutes of the third quarter for the Warriors, who had lost the last two match-ups to the Celtics and two in a row at home. The Warriors fell 92-88 at Boston on Nov 16 in which they squandered a 17-point lead.
Kyrie Irving scored 37 points on 13-for18 shooting with five threes, but Boston failed to build momentum from a win at the Clippers on Wednesday night, losing for the fifth time in six games.
Kevin Durant added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who haven’t lost to the same Eastern Conference opponents twice in the same season during fourth-year coach Steve Kerr’s tenure. Draymond Green had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
In Detroit, Carmelo Anthony surpassed the 25,000-point milestone and Russell Westbrook added 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to lift surging Oklahoma City past Detroit 121-108.
Thunder guard Andre Roberson was taken off on a stretcher in the third quarter after landing hard on the court after trying to jump for an alley-oop. The scary injury put a damper on Oklahoma City’s seventh straight victory. It’s the NBA’s longest current winning streak.
Detroit have lost seven in a row, the league’s longest current skid. The Pistons now face back-to-back games against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Anthony scored his 25,000th point on a free throw with 8:30 minutes left in the third quarter. That was part of a 15-0 run for the Thunder at the start of the second half that pushed their lead to 27.
In Minneapolis, Jimmy Butler scored 21 points in his return to Minnesota’s, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 19 rebounds for his NBA-leading 43rd doubledouble as the Timberwolves beat the Nets 111-97.
Butler added six rebounds and five assists after missing four games with right knee soreness. Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, and Jamal Crawford added 16 to help Minnesota snap a two-game skid.
GEORGE REPLACES COUSINS
New Orleans Pelicans forward LaMarcus Cousins, set for a starting appearance in the NBA All-Star Game next month, will instead miss the remainder of the season, the club announced on Saturday.
Cousins will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon suffered when he was going for a rebound late in the Pelicans’ 115-113 victory over Houston on Friday.
An MRI exam confirmed the extent of Cousins’ injury. His spot on the LeBron James All-Star roster will be taken by Oklahoma City’s Paul George.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver named George to the LeBron line-up to challenge Stephen Curry’s squad in next month’s AllStar contest.