Stephen Curry knocked down six three-pointers on the way to 26 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 102-94 on Tuesday night to stay on pace for the all-time NBA wins record.
Klay Thompson followed back-to-back 40-point games with 16 as Golden State (67-7) stayed a game ahead of the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls’ pace during their 72-10 season. The Warriors must go 6-2 over their final eight games for the record.
Draymond Green had 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to just miss back-to-back triple-doubles in the Warriors’ 54th straight regular-season home win and 36th consecutive this season.
Photo: AP
Bradley Beal scored 17 for the Wizards, who lost their fourth straight to Golden State.
ROCKETS 106, CAVALIERS 100
James Harden scored 27 points as Houston rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Cleveland, who rested LeBron James.
Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter as Houston outscored Cleveland 35-16 in the period.
Dwight Howard’s free throw with 2 minutes, 13 seconds left put Houston ahead 95-94. Harden’s three-pointer made it 98-94 before Kyrie Irving hit a three-pointer with 1 minute, 30 seconds left, making it a one-point game.
Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but Trevor Ariza’s three-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left gave Houston a 101-97 lead.
Irving scored 31 points for Cleveland, who fell to 1-3 this season and 4-13 over the past two when James has not played.
BULLS 98, PACERS 96
Jimmy Butler made a tiebreaking jumper with 3.7 seconds left as Chicago beat Indiana to snap a four-game losing streak.
Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points as Chicago (37-37) got back to .500 and pulled within two games of Indiana for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Mirotic made seven three-pointers, his final one tying it at 96-96 with 2 minutes, 19 seconds remaining.
The Pacers missed five shots in the final two minutes that would have given them the lead before the Bulls rebounded Pau Gasol’s miss with 20 seconds remaining and got the ball to Butler for his jumper from the right wing.
C.J. Miles missed a three-pointer that would have won it as time expired. Paul George had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, while Ian Mahinmi had 18 points and seven boards.
Butler finished with 14 points, while Gasol added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
PISTONS 88, THUNDER 82
Marcus Morris scored 24 points as Detroit took advantage of Kevin Durant’s absence in a victory over Oklahoma City.
The Thunder rested Durant and Serge Ibaka, and were held to only nine points in the third period in their lowest-scoring game of the season.
The Thunder rallied from a 15-point deficit, closing the gap to just one in the fourth, but Detroit were able to hold on late for another victory in their push for a playoff spot.
The Thunder had their eight-game winning streak snapped. Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 24 points on eight of 28 shooting.
Andre Drummond had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, while Tobias Harris added 17 points.
HORNETS 100, 76ERS 85
Nicolas Batum had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season, leading Charlotte over Philadelphia.
Cody Zeller added 18 points and 11 boards for Charlotte, who set a franchise record for wins in a month, securing their 13th victory this month.
The Hornets, who entered the game in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, also edged closer to clinching their first playoff spot in two years and second post-season berth in the past 13 years. However, Charlotte have not won a playoff series since 2002.
The teams both have until Friday off, when they are to play again in Charlotte for the fourth and final meeting of the season.
Short-handed Philadelphia, who dressed just 10 players, lost their 10th straight game and 23rd in the past 24. Robert Covington had 18 points.
MAGIC 139, NETS 105
Aaron Gordon had 20 points, while Elfrid Payton had 11 points and 12 assists as the Magic scored a season high in defeating Brooklyn.
Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier had their moments, while backup center Dewayne Dedmon, playing in place of injured Nikola Vucevic, scored 15 points
The Magic had eight players in double figures, including backups Andrew Nicholson with 24 and Jason Smith with 14.
The Nets were led by reserve forward Thomas Robinson, who scored 18 points, after being inserted into the starting lineup in place of Thaddeus Young. Brook Lopez scored just five points in the first half, but did not play in the second half.
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