Stephen Curry was back after a night off and all was well again for the Golden State Warriors.
Curry on Sunday had 26 points and Klay Thompson added 24 as the Warriors rebounded a night after a blowout loss with a 121-114 win over the Detroit Pistons.
The Warriors fell 126-91 to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, but that was with Curry resting on the bench. He came back strong against the Pistons, while Golden State also got 14 points and 11 assists from Kevin Durant.
Photo: AP
Draymond Green added 14 points and eight assists.
Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who had eight points off the bench, said having Curry on the court was of the “utmost importance for sure. He’s kind of the engine of the team. His pace and his gravity on the court, it opens up the game for all of us.”
Curry said there was a sense of intensity from the start after the big loss.
“Nobody felt good about that, even the guys that didn’t play,” said Curry, who had played 49 straight games before Saturday. “You could see that sense of urgency, especially in the first quarter to set the tone and try to make the game as easy as possible on ourselves for 48 minutes.”
The win moved the Warriors (50-23) back to first seed in the Western Conference by half a game over the Nuggets (49-23).
The Pistons slipped to seventh in the Eastern Conference with the loss.
Blake Griffin had 24 points and eight assists to lead Detroit. Luke Kennard hit three three-pointers and had 20 points off the bench.
“We are all right, we are playing good basketball,” Pistons guard Ish Smith said. “We are just playing [the best teams in the West].”
DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala sat out for the Warriors. Cousins is not playing in any back-to-back contests this season while recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.
Green hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 63-49 halftime lead and Golden State led 97-77 entering the fourth.
The Pistons got within nine points with five minutes left, but a long three-pointer by Curry gave the Warriors back their double-digit lead until the final seconds.
Also on Sunday, it was:
‧ Hornets 115, Raptors 114
‧ Bucks 127, Cavaliers 105
‧ Rockets 113, Pelicans 90
‧ Spurs 115, Celtics 96
‧ Pacers 124, Nuggets 88
‧ Clippers 124, Knicks 113
‧ Lakers 111, Kings 106
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
RSS