Stephen Curry scored 33 points and had 10 assists as the Golden State Warriors pulled away from the short-handed Trail Blazers in the second half of their game on Tuesday for a 122-108 victory that clinched the team’s first division title in 39 years.
Andre Iguodala came off the bench to score 21 points for the Warriors, who won their seventh straight to push their record to an NBA-best 58-13.
Golden State have not claimed the Pacific Division crown since the 1975-1976 season, the year after the team last won the NBA championship.
Photo: EPA
With a comfortable lead on second-placed Memphis in the Western Conference, Golden State have dropped just one of their past 12 games.
Damian Lillard scored 29 points for the Blazers, who have lost five straight following a 1-4 road trip.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma’s NBA scoring leader Russell Westbrook scored 27 points and added 11 assists, while Enes Kanter had 25 points and 16 rebounds in the Thunder’s fourth straight victory, 127-117 over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kanter had a double-double in the first quarter with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Oklahoma City raced out to a 37-27 lead.
After trailing by 15 at the half, the Lakers closed to 70-61 before Westbrook scored twice in 15 seconds on his way to 14 third-quarter points.
In Dallas, Monta Ellis matched his season high with 38 points as the Mavericks rallied in the second half to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 101-94.
Ellis hit 16 of 27 field-goal attempts, bouncing back from his four-for-22 performance on Sunday in a loss in Phoenix.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 19 points, while Danny Green added 17.
The Milwaukee Bucks edged the Miami Heat 89-88 to break a six-game losing streak after Khris Middleton hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Bayless missed on a drive down the lane, but Zaza Pachulia tapped the ball back to Middleton, who buried the winner. He finished with 13.
It was a crucial victory for the Bucks, who improved to 35-36 to remain in sixth place in the conference, while the Heat fell to 32-38.
In other games, Reggie Jackson tallied 28 points and nine assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 108-104, while DeMarcus Cousins had 33 points and 17 rebounds for Sacramento in the Kings’ 107-106 win over Philadelphia.
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