MIAMI — Game-high in points. Game-high in assists. Game-high in steals. Oh, and for good measure, he made as many 3-pointers as the entire Miami Heat roster. ADVERTISING MIAMI — Game-high in points. Game-high in assists. Game-high in steals. Oh,
MIAMI — Game-high in points. Game-high in assists. Game-high in steals. Oh, and for good measure, he made as many 3-pointers as the entire Miami Heat roster.
Stephen Curry had another night to remember.
And the Golden State Warriors continued their surge.
Curry finished with 36 points, 12 assists, four steals and made eight 3-pointers, David Lee finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds, and the Warriors ran past the Heat 123-114 Thursday night to extend the NBA’s longest current winning streak to seven games.
“Curry was spectacular,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “If he doesn’t make the All-Star team, I might retire.”
Curry was 13 for 22 from the floor, 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. Lee made 13 of 17 shots. The Warriors made 15 3-pointers; the Heat managed only eight.
James scored 26 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 for the Heat, who had all five starters in double figures. Chris Bosh scored 19, Mario Chalmers had 17 and Shane Battier added 11 for Miami.
KNICKS 105, SPURS 101
SAN ANTONIO — Iman Shumpert scored a career-high 27 points, including the tiebreaking tip-in with 23.4 seconds left, and Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and 12 rebounds in his return from injury as New York surprised San Antonio.
Amare Stoudemire added 11 points and Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani had 10 each for the Knicks (10-21), who snapped a three-game skid.
Marco Belinelli had a career-high 32 points, but missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute for San Antonio (25-8).
The Spurs dropped to 12-5 at home this season. They had won three in a row overall.
The Knicks’ skid coincided with Anthony sitting out with a sprained left ankle, but the All-Star forward looked refreshed in revitalizing the team’s struggling offense.
NETS 95, THUNDER 93
OKLAHOMA CITY — Joe Johnson hit a high-arching jumper as time expired to give Brooklyn a comeback victory over Oklahoma City.
Johnson’s game-winning shot capped an improbable rally from a 16-point second-half deficit for the Nets (11-21), led by a season-high 29 points from point guard Deron Williams.
Brooklyn trailed 77-61 late in the third quarter, but Williams scored 18 in the second half and helped set the stage for Johnson’s last-second shot. Paul Pierce added 18 points for the Nets.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder (25-7) with 24 points. Oklahoma City was playing its fourth straight game without injured All-Star guard Russell Westbrook.
The loss was the second straight for the Thunder, only the second time they’ve lost two in a row this season.
CAVALIERS 87,
MAGIC 85,OT
CLEVELAND — Anderson Varejao hit two crucial jumpers in overtime and tied a franchise record with a career-high 25 rebounds as Cleveland beat Orlando to snap a season-high six-game losing streak.
The Cavaliers were playing without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who missed his first game this season because of a bruised left knee. Irving averages a team-high 22.2 points.
Orlando couldn’t hold a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and Cleveland tied the game on Dion Waiters’ layup with .06 seconds remaining.
Varejao’s basket with 2:07 remaining in OT put Cleveland ahead 83-81. He added another basket with 1:34 left and hit two free throws with 23.9 seconds remaining to finish with 18 points.
Glen Davis scored 16 points for the Magic, who scored only two points in the extra session.
BULLS 94, CELTICS 82
CHICAGO — Joakim Noah had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to help Chicago defeat Boston and snap a two-game skid.
Carlos Boozer added 16 points, Luol Deng 14, Taj Gibson 12, Mike Dunleavy 11 and Jimmy Butler 10 for the Bulls.
Noah had nine assists early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get another and fell just short of a triple-double. Butler missed a jumper with 8 seconds left, Noah’s last chance at reaching 10 assists.
Jordan Crawford led the Celtics, who have lost two straight, with 22 points.
GRIZZLIES 99, SUNS 91
PHOENIX — Jerryd Bayless scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, coming off the bench to help Memphis overcome Goran Dragic’s career-high 33 points in a win over Phoenix.
Bayless helped the Grizzlies recover from the Suns’ 18-0 third-quarter run, giving Memphis a 94-84 lead on a 3-pointer with 4:30 to play.
Zach Randolph had 20 points and 15 rebounds in helping the Grizzlies beat the Suns for the second time in two meetings this season. Ed Davis added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Dragic added seven assists on his own bobblehead night.
TRAIL BLAZERS 134, BOBCATS 104
PORTLAND, Ore. — Wesley Matthews had 25 points, including five of Portland’s 21 3-pointers in a rout of Charlotte.
The Trail Blazers hit their first seven 3s and made 63.6 percent of their 33 attempts in becoming the first NBA team to make 20 or more 3s twice in one season, according to STATS. Damian Lillard finished with 24 points, hitting all six of his 3-point tries. The 21 3-pointers matched a franchise high, set in a 139-105 victory at Philadelphia on Dec. 14.
Portland upped its record to 26-7 and moved back into the top spot in the Western Conference.
It was the season-high fifth straight loss for the Bobcats. Charlotte has lost six straight in Portland.
76ERS 113, KINGS 104
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thaddeus Young scored 28 points, Evan Turner had 24 and Philadelphia defeated Sacramento for its third straight victory.
The suddenly surging 76ers took the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed again in winning their third consecutive road game after losing the previous 13.
Reserve guard Tony Wroten had 21 points for Philadelphia, which ends its six-game road trip Saturday in Portland. Lavoy Allen and Spencer Hawes added 10 points apiece.
Young had a career-high six steals, including five in the first half, tying the arena record. Turner added 10 rebounds and six assists.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 of his 33 points in the opening half for the Kings, who committed 23 turnovers and lost their sixth home game in a row to the 76ers.
JAZZ 96, BUCKS 87
SALT LAKE CITY — Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and Derrick Favors had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help Utah hold off Milwaukee, winning consecutive games for the third time this season.
Hayward, Utah’s leading scorer, had failed to reach double digits in the previous two games but was efficient from the start against the Bucks with 18 points in the first half. Favors took his turn in crunch time with seven points in the final 2:02 to clinch the game.
The Jazz made all 17 free throw attempts and outrebounded the Bucks 43-34 in a matchup of teams with the worst records in each conference.
Larry Sanders shot 7 of 7 to lead Milwaukee with 16 points. The Bucks went 4 of 22 from beyond the arc.
By wire sources
