Stephen Curry on Saturday night had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Golden State overcame Draymond Green’s absence to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 for their 11th straight victory.
Curry shot 13 for 19 with four three-pointers, while Kevin Durant added 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high six blocked shots. Klay Thompson scored 23 points, with four three-pointers.
Green sat out a day after bruising his left ankle at Los Angeles in a collision with teammate Ian Clark, who also missed the game after being hit in the throat on the play.
Photo: AP
“Without Ian and Draymond, our bench was thinned out,” coach Steve Kerr said.
For the Timberwolves, Zach LaVine scored 31 points with five three-pointers, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter on six-for-10 shooting.
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook recorded his second straight triple-double and NBA-best seventh of the season with 17 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds as the Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 106-88.
Westbrook, who tied LeBron James for sixth on the NBA’s career list with 44 triple-doubles, shot just eight for 22 from the field after scoring at least 30 points in eight straight games. It was just the second time this year Westbrook failed to score 20.
“I’m happy we won, that’s the most important part for me, but I definitely don’t take anything for granted,” Westbrook said. “Every night I step on the floor, I try to compete at a high level and I’m thankful that I can play the game I love every night.”
Anthony Morrow scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Thunder (10-8), who were playing their fourth game in six nights in four different cities. Victor Oladipo added 18, while Steven Adams had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Tobias Harris scored 21 points for the Pistons, who have lost five of their last seven.
In Washington, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points while Tony Parker added 20 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Wizards 112- for their ninth straight victory.
The Spurs (14-3) swept a three-game road swing and are a perfect 10-0 away from home.
“I do want to go home. I don’t want to play at home,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said jokingly after the game. “You’ve got no choice, no choice.”
Kawhi Leonard scored 19 for San Antonio, who shot 53.3 percent (40 of 75) from the field. The Spurs led by 10 at halftime and as many as 19 in the second half.
Kemba Walker scored 28 points and Jeremy Lamb added 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 107-102 win over the New York Knicks.
Frank Kaminsky added 14 points, including two clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, while Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 25 points.
In Miami, Marc Gasol scored a season-high 28 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat Miami 110-107.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was