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NBA game roundup:Warriors, best in West, beat best in East

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Sports Editor
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Warriors 126, Raptors 105

OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson and Marreese Speights contributed 18 points to a 23-5 spurt to open the second half as Golden State Warriors ran away from Toronto in a battle of teams with the best records in each conference.

In running their best-in-basketball record to 26-5, the Warriors recorded an 11th consecutive win at home and 10th without a loss against Eastern Conference competition this season.

Point guard Stephen Curry had 32 points, Speights poured in 26 and power forward Draymond Green recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, powering the Warriors to their 10th straight win over Toronto.

The win was the Warriors’ third in a row to open their current six-game homestand. The average margin of victory in the three wins has been 24.7 points.

Playing their fourth game in seven nights out west, the Raptors (24-9) were down just five at halftime before the Warriors exploded to open the third period.

A 3-pointer by Thompson began the run 41 second into the half, and a driving hoop by Speights 5:33 later capped it with the Warriors having built an 89-66 lead.

Thompson had 10 points in the flurry. Speights chipped in with eight.

Grizzlies 109, Lakers 106

LOS ANGELES — Point guard Mike Conley scored 19 points, handed out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds, leading Memphis over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Staples Center.

Center Marc Gasol added 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Grizzlies won their third in a row.

Backup point guard Jeremy Lin and forward Ed Davis scored 20 each to lead the Lakers (10-23), who lost for the fourth time in the last five games. Davis, who also had eight rebounds against his former club, missed a free throw with 2.8 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.

Pelicans 111, Rockets 83

NEW ORLEANS — Forward Ryan Anderson scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and guard Tyreke Evans added 21 points to spark New Orleans to a rout of Houston at the Smoothie King Center.

After the Pelicans scored the first six points of the third quarter to take a 65-42 lead, Houston coach Kevin McHale waved the white flag by subbing out his entire starting lineup just 1:31 into the half.

The Pelicans coasted to the victory even though leading scorer Anthony Davis scored only seven points in 31 minutes. Davis also contributed eight rebounds and three blocks. In addition to Anderson, Dante Cunningham came off the bench to score 13 points, and guard Jimmer Fredette added 10.

Hawks 98, Jazz 92

SALT LAKE CITY — Guard Jeff Teague scored 25 points and forward Paul Millsap added 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Atlanta over Utah.

Center Al Horford added 13 points to help the Hawks win their sixth consecutive game over a Western Conference opponent.

Forward Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and Dante Exum added 13 points off the bench to lead the Jazz. Utah was swept in the season series with Atlanta for a second consecutive season.

Suns 112, Sixers 96

PHOENIX — Guard Gerald Green scored 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench and Phoenix opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to beat Philadelphia.

Forward Markieff Morris matched Green with 21 points for the Suns, who won for the seventh time in their last nine games. The Suns trailed by two points at the half to the NBA’s worst team, but completed the season sweep and sent the Sixers to their fourth straight road loss on a seven-game trip that started with wins in Orlando and Miami.

Eric Bledsoe had 17 points, eight assists and five assists for the Suns, who have beaten the Sixers five straight times. Center Alex Len set a career high with six blocks in only 16 minutes.

Thunder 109, Wizards 102

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant posted 34 points and eight rebounds to lead Oklahoma City over Washington at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The win pushed the Thunder to 17-17 as they reached .500 for the first time this season. The Wizards dropped to 22-10 and have now lost two straight on their west coast swing.

Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. John Wall added 14 points and 12 assists.

Pacers 94, Bucks 91

MILWAUKEE — C.J. Miles scored 22 points and hit six 3-pointers as Indiana rallied late for a victory over Milwaukeeat the Bradley Center.

Two of Miles’ long-distance baskets came early in the fourth quarter, capping a 15-8 run that put the Pacers ahead for good.

Center Roy Hibbert hit 6 of 11 shots from the field and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Forward Luis Scola added 14 points and point guard David Sloan, starting in place of George Hill and C.J. Watson, had 10 points and six assists.

Cavaliers 91, Hornets 87

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forward Kevin Love scored 27 points and Cleveland snapped a three-game losing streak with its first win since LeBron James was shelved.

The Cavs trailed by 11 points in a cold-shooting first half but took the lead midway through the third quarter and went on to lead by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter.

They put the game away on Love’s fallaway 18-footer at the shot-clock buzzer with 23.4 seconds remaining for an 88-83 lead. Guard Kyrie Irving tacked on three free throws in the final 10.8 seconds.

Mavericks 119, Celtics 101

BOSTON — Rajon Rondo made a triumphant return to TD Garden, scoring his new team’s first 10 points and leading Dallas over Boston.

Rondo, traded recently by the Celtics to Dallas in exchange for three players, two draft picks and a trade exception, hit his first seven shots, four of them 3-pointers, and scored 18 points in the first 13:32 of the game.

Rondo was given a huge ovation in the pre-game intros and a video tribute at the end of a 15-point first quarter, responding with a wave to the standing crowd.

Pistons 97, Knicks 81

NEW YORK — Detroit won its season-best fourth straight game, defeating New York at Madison Square Garden.

Point guard Brandon Jennings led Detroit with 29 points and center Andre Drummond grabbed 20 rebounds. Jennings was 11 of 17 from the floor in just 25 minutes. Shooting guard Jodie Meeks came off the Pistons bench to deposit 15 points.

The margin of victory was the largest for Detroit this season.

Nets 100, Magic 98

ORLANDO, Fla. — Mason Plumlee scored 18 points and Brook Lopez and Deron Williams had 16 each as Brooklyn survived Orlando’s fourth-quarter rally to post the victory.

Joe Johnson added 14 points, including two free throws with 22 seconds left to give Brooklyn enough of a cushion to claim its sixth win in the last seven games.

Victor

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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