Defending champion Golden State on Friday saw Kevin Durant sidelined for two weeks, Israeli forward Omri Casspi hurt and their bid to overtake Houston for the NBA’s best record falter with a 98-93 loss to Sacramento.
Buddy Hield came off the Sacramento bench to score 22 points and lead the Kings against a struggling Warriors squad without Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Before the game, Durant was put onto the injured list with a rib cartilage fracture and set for re-evaluation in two weeks.
Photo: AP
The reigning MVP ranks sixth among all NBA scorers this season with 26.6 points a game. Durant also averages 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 blocked shots a game.
Joining the injury list was reserve Casspi, who sprained his right ankle landing on a rival’s foot in the second quarter after playing only six minutes.
Golden State’s Quinn Cook scored a career-best 25 points in 40 minutes on the court and Draymond Green added 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
However, the Kings (23-47) closed the game on an 11-3 run to capture their first back-to-back wins since late January.
That dropped Golden State to 52-17 and two-and-a-half games behind Western Conference leaders the Houston Rockets for the best record in the NBA.
With injuries nagging them and the Rockets showing no sign of misfiring, the Warriors might not be able to overtake Houston for the overall playoff home-court edge.
“It’s a harrowing experience — I’m just trying to process it all,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr joked. “Second in the conference would just be devastating.”
Then he turned serious, trying to put the injuries and best-record chase into perspective.
“We’re not really paying too much attention to the standings. We are just playing,” Kerr said. “We’re in a good position big picture no matter what happens, because our injuries are all relatively minor. We’re very hopeful and confident that we’ll have everybody back when it counts.”
That means when the playoffs start on April 14.
RAPTORS 122, MAVERICKS 115
The Warriors’ loss left the level for second overall in the NBA with the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors, who matched the all-time best team win streak by winning their 11th game in a row, downing Dallas 122-115 in overtime.
The Raptors, who own the NBA’s best home record at 29-5, had 29 points from DeMar DeRozan, including a short jump shot with 53.1 seconds left in overtime that put the Raptors up 117-115.
The Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas then made 5-6 free throws in the last seconds to seal the victory, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m not completely happy, because I see the big picture, but I like the fight,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “I like the way the guys competed.”
CELTICS 92, MAGIC 83
The Boston Celtics, second to Toronto in the East, downed host Orlando 92-83.
The Magic connected on just 39.1 percent of their shots from the floor and were out-rebounded 55-40. Boston pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and out-scored the Magic in second-chance points 20-8.
Guard Terry Rozier, starting in place of injured Kyrie Irving, and reserve Greg Monroe scored 17 points apiece for the Celtics.
In Friday’s other games, it was:
‧ 76ers 120, Nets 116
‧ Thunder 121, Clippers 113
‧ Heat 92, Lakers 91
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