Stephen Curry scored 27 points as defending champions the Golden State Warriors moved within one victory of matching the best start in NBA history, holding off the Chicago Bulls 106-94 on Friday night to improve to 14-0.
The league’s last undefeated team ran its franchise-record home winning streak to 26 games by beating a Chicago team who were the last to win at Oracle Arena during the regular season in late January.
Golden State equaled the 1957-1958 Celtics as the only defending champions to win their initial 14 games. The Warriors are one of five teams in NBA history to begin 14-0, and travel to Denver today as they look to keep their run going.
Photo: AFP
Harrison Barnes added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors in a game featuring 18 lead changes and 17 ties.
Jimmy Butler had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls.
SUNS 114, NUGGETS 107
Brandon Knight scored a career-high 38 points and Eric Bledsoe had 22 as Phoenix overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Denver.
The Suns trailed most of the game, but went ahead early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run. Jon Leuer’s three-pointer made it 89-88 before Knight hit another three and Mirza Teletovic’s putback made it 94-88.
Teletovic and Knight had consecutive three-pointers to make it 102-92 with 4 minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
Knight scored 17 points in the fourth to lead the comeback.
Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay led Denver with a career-high 26 points, while Gary Harris also set a career best with 20.
PELICANS 104, SPURS 90
Anthony Davis had 20 points and 18 rebounds in his return from a sore shoulder as New Orleans beat San Antonio for their second victory of the season.
Ryan Anderson hit six three-pointers and scored 30 points for the second straight game. Ish Smith had 17 points and 13 assists for New Orleans (2-11), who snapped a five-game skid.
Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points for San Antonio, who lost for only the third time this season and had their six-game winning streak snapped. LaMarcus Aldridge left briefly in the first quarter after twisting his left ankle, but returned and finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Eric Gordon scored 11 points for New Orleans, including a three-pointer that gave the Pelicans a 100-88 lead with 2 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.
In other games, it was:
‧ Trail Blazers 102, Clippers 91
‧ Knicks 93, Thunder 90
‧ Hornets 113, 76ers 88
‧ Mavericks 102, Jazz 93
‧ Grizzlies 96, Rockets 84
‧ Raptors 102, Lakers 91
‧ Pistons 96, Timberwolves 86
‧ Celtics 120, Nets 95
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB