Stephen Curry came to the fore as the Golden State Warriors extended their NBA-record winning start to the season to 19 games after edging out the Utah Jazz 106-103. “We have had some lopsided victories, too”, said Curry, whose team also beat the Brooklyn Nets in overtime and rallied from a 23-point deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers. “Just because we are 19-0 doesn’t mean we can just show up and blow teams out and guarantee a win, we actually have to do something about it”.
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Curry made sure of that by draining a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 104-101 lead with 51.9 seconds remaining. Hood hit a mid-range jumper to pull Utah within one, and then a rare miss by Curry with 16 seconds remaining opened the door for Utah to steal the game. Rodney Hood scored 14 seconds later to bring the Jazz within one.
Curry hit two free throws to seal the victory as Gordon Hayward’s half-courter at the buzzer fell way short.
Playing in their third game in four nights, the Warriors were energized by the hot shooting of reserve guard Ian Clark, who over a three-minute stretch in the second went 4-for-4 from 3-point range. They are pretty even teams so it should make for a good match up.
Curry missed a three-pointer, giving the Jazz a chance to take the lead.
Alec Burks led the team on Saturday with 21 points.
The Warriors have won 23 straight regular-season games dating back to last season. That’s about a quarter of the National Basketball Association season.
Utah cut the Warriors’ lead to two points before Curry and Thompson responded with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Favors tied it again with two free throws.
Russell Westbrook had another outstanding game for the Thunder as he recorded a double-double, which consisted of 34 points and 11 rebounds.
The Atlanta Hawks snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s four-game winning streak with a 106-100 win at the Philips Arena.
Curry, who made several key shots late, finished with 26 points to lead the way.
Avery Bradley tossed in 25 points, Evan Turner added five of his 13 in the final minute and the Celtics (10-8) stopped a three-game road slide after beating the Heat (10-6) who wasted Dwyane Wade’s game-high 30. The Hornets rank No. 7 in points per game (102.5) and have won five of their last six games.
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Greg Monroe scored 18 points and Milwaukee forced 24 turnovers that led to 35 points in handing Denver its seventh consecutive loss.
Isaiah Thomas scored 16 while fellow starters Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson each added 13 for Boston.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Reggie Jackson had 31 points to spark the Pistons.
Afterward, Walton said, “Once their crowd got into it, they had their confidence going”. The Jazz have one of the best defenses, allowing 99.4 points in the same number of possessions (ranked eighth). James Harden scored 29 for the Rockets.
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Sacramento 112, Dallas 98 – DeMarcus Cousins scored 31 points, Rajon Rondo scored 21, and Rudy Gay added 20 as the Kings beat the Mavericks in Sacramento.
