Warriors eclipse Suns for league-best record
PHOENIX — Stephen Curry had 33 points, Otto Porter Jr. scored seven of his 19 during a key late stretch and the Golden State Warriors regained the top spot in the NBA from Phoenix, beating the Suns 116-107 on Saturday.
Golden State arrived in the desert short-handed, missing three of its top four scorers to health and safety protocols: Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee and Jordan Poole.
Curry carried most of the load, overcoming a mediocre shooting night to crack 20 points for the first time in nine Christmas games. He finished 10 for 27, including 5 for 16 from 3 to help the Warriors end Phoenix’s 15game home winning streak.
Instead of Curry, it was Porter taking over down the stretch, hitting a stepback 3 and a pair of jumpers in a span of 1:02.
“I drew up every play. I completely organized every aspect of it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said sarcastically. “Otto was great. He’s just added so much to our team with his shooting from that position and his rebounding and defense.”
Chris Paul had 21 points for Phoenix.
NETS 122, LAKERS 115
Nic Claxton threw down a tie-breaking alley-oop over LeBron James with 40.7 seconds left, and James Harden and Brooklyn returned from a weeklong COVID-19 hiatus to win at Los Angeles.
Harden had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Patty Mills added 34 points for the Nets, who had their past three games postponed because they did not have enough players to compete.
James scored 39, but it was not enough to stop the Lakers’ losing streak from reaching five. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds.
JAZZ 120, MAVERICKS 116
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 25 and Mike Conley contributed 22 as Utah outlasted Dallas at Salt Lake City.
Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Bunson scored 27 points each for Dallas.
BUCKS 117, CELTICS 113
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from the NBA’s healthy and safety protocols to score 36 points, and Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 30.3 seconds left to give host Milwaukee its first lead in the victory over Boston.
Boston had just eight players available after putting Dennis Schroder in the protocols earlier Saturday, but took control behind Jaylen Brown, who scored 14 of his 25 points in the opening quarter. Jayson Tatum also scored 25 points for Boston.
KNICKS 101, HAWKS 87
Kemba Walker became the seventh NBA player with a triple-double on Christmas, and host New York beat depleted Atlanta.
Julius Randle had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. Walker finished with 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
GEORGE SIDELINED AT LEAST THREE WEEKS
An elbow injury that already had sidelined Paul George for two weeks will keep the Los Angeles Clippers’ leading scorer out even longer.
A torn ulnar collateral ligament in George’s right elbow — his shooting arm — will sideline the All-Star wing until he is re-evaluated in three to four weeks.