Golden State Warriors rout Charlotte Hornets to clinch fifth straight Pacific Division crown
Young's buzzer-beater downs Bucks; Kings complete season sweep over Spurs; Nuggets shocked by Wizards
Monday 1 April 2019 11:01, UK
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were red hot as the Golden State Warriors beat Charlotte 137-90 to clinch their fifth straight Pacific Division title and hand the Hornets their worst loss of the season.
Charlotte Hornets 90-137 Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry scored 25 points as the Golden State Warriors beat Charlotte 137-90 to clinch their fifth straight Pacific Division title and hand the Hornets their worst loss of the season.
Curry hit five threes and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson finished with 24 and six threes on the way to a blowout victory for the Dubs.
It meant coach Steve Kerr could give his regulars a rest later in the game and better prepare the backups for the playoffs with more minutes.
Curry and Thompson - who has now moved to 16th all-time in made three-pointers - combined to shoot 11 for 17 from deep and 17 of 30 overall as a pair while Kevin Durant contributed 11 points and nine assists.
Curry has now made five or more threes in a career-best eight straight games. He has 335 so far, his second-most in a season behind the NBA-record 402 he hit in 2015/16.
Quinn Cook also added 21 points off the bench with five treys as the Warriors shot a sizzling 21 of 33 (63.6%) from long range.
The Warriors took charge from the opening tip and took it to the Hornets as the two-time defending champions returned to the court for the first time since a 131-130 overtime loss Friday at Minnesota in which Golden State took exception to multiple late calls.
Starting Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins was ejected with 6:09 left in the second quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul against Willy Hernangomez. Cousins scored eight points and blocked three shots in his 11 minutes on court.
Hernangomez scored 22 points, 14 on free throws, for the Hornets, but Charlotte's leading scorer and All-Star Kemba Walker was held to just nine points, only his third game of the season where he failed to reach double figures.
Next up, the Hornets are at Utah on Monday to complete a back-to-back while the Warriors will host the Nuggets at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Milwaukee Bucks 135-136 Atlanta Hawks (OT)
Rookie Trae Young hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer in overtime to give the Atlanta Hawks a 136-135 win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Milwaukee's Sterling Brown, who scored a season-high 27, had put the Bucks ahead with 1.1 seconds remaining with a driving basket. That negated the go-ahead bucket that Young had scored with 6.8 seconds remaining on the previous possession.
It was the first time Atlanta beat Milwaukee in three tries this season and broke a six-game losing streak to the Bucks.
Atlanta (28-49) got 24 points from Justin Anderson and 23 points each from John Collins and Alex Len. Anderson and Collins each had 12 rebounds. Young had 12 points and 16 assists.
Milwaukee (57-20) were playing without starters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton and relied on their depth. Seven players scored in double figures for the Bucks, who saw their winning streak end at four games.
The Bucks also got 20 points and 15 assists from Tim Frazier, 19 points from Brook Lopez, 18 points from George Hill and 17 points and 12 rebounds from Pat Connaughton.
The Bucks opted to give Antetokounmpo the day off to rest his right ankle, which has been injured for two weeks. He re-aggravated the ankle in the fourth quarter of Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Middleton was a surprise scratch, having tweaked his left groin since scoring a season-high 39 on Thursday.
Atlanta was down a pair of starters, too. Taurean Prince missed his third game with foot soreness and Dewayne Dedmon was shut down for the season to have left ankle surgery. Dedmon, who has started 52 games, has been in an out of the line-up recently and averages 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
The Bucks got off to a great start and led by 23 when Bonzie Colson drained a three-pointer at the 3:57 mark that made it 39-16. The Hawks rallied and outscored the Bucks 20-4 to trim Milwaukee's lead to 43-26 after one period.
The Hawks retained the momentum in the second quarter and kept chipping away, drawing to within two points when Young dropped in a floater with 33.4 seconds left in the half. Milwaukee led 71-68 at half-time.
The Hawks tied the game on its first possession of the third quarter when Collins made a three-pointer and took the lead for the first time when Anderson made a 26-foot triple-pointer at the 9:01 mark and took a 98-97 lead into the fourth quarter but the Bucks regained the lead on a pair of Lopez free throws with 11:45 left to set off a strong finish. Milwaukee led by 114-104 when Connaughton converted a three-point play with 6:53 left in the game.
But Atlanta bounced back and was able to tie the game when Alex Len hit a three with 19.5 seconds left. Milwaukee's Brown missed jumper for the win with two seconds left and Len cleared the rebound and the game ended 122-122 in regulation.
Overtime was closely fought before Young's late-game heroics decided proceedings as the Hawks chalked up an impressive win.
Los Angeles Lakers 130-102 New Orleans Pelicans
JaVale McGee had 23 points and 16 rebounds as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers routed the New Orleans Pelicans 130-102 in a matchup of shorthanded teams Sunday night.
Former Pelican Rajon Rondo also added 24 points and 12 assists, Alex Caruso came off the bench to score 23 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 19 points and Reggie Bullock 18 as the Lakers outscored the Pelicans 69-40 in the second half.
Los Angeles was playing its first game since announcing Saturday that LeBron James would not play again this season because of a groin injury. He was on the bench in street clothes as Los Angeles also played without Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Tyson Chandler.
Former Laker Julius Randle scored 17 to lead New Orleans, who lost for the 10th time in 12 games. Christian Wood added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Jahlil Okafor scored 15, Solomon Hill had 14 and Cheick Diallo had his ninth double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis missed his third consecutive game because of lower back spasms and coach Alvin Gentry said before the game that Davis will not play again this season unless he feels "great."
New Orleans also played without Jrue Holiday, E'Twaun Moore, Darius Miller and Frank Jackson.
The Pelicans led by one point at halftime, but Los Angeles dominated the third quarter and the Lakers took the lead for good at 68-66 on a basket by Rondo.
Caruso scored 10 points as the Lakers extended the lead to 105-84 after the third quarter as Los Angeles outscored New Orleans 44-22 in the period.
Caldwell-Pope scored 11 points and Clark had nine as the first quarter ended with the score tied at 26.
The score was tied four times in the second quarter before Okafor's basket with 10 seconds left gave New Orleans a 62-61 halftime lead, but the Lakers pushed on after the interval and won with plenty to spare.
Dallas Mavericks 106-103 Oklahoma City Thunder
Dwight Powell's dunk with 21 seconds left gave Dallas the lead for good and the Mavericks survived to claim in a wild 106-103 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Powell took a dish from Jalen Brunson, who hit a go-ahead basket on the Mavericks' previous possession, and slammed the ball home for the fifth lead change in a frantic final two minutes.
Dennis Schroder and Paul George each missed would-be go-ahead three-pointers on the Thunder's next trip down the floor. Ryan Broekhoff was fouled after rebounding George's miss and drained both free throws with 4.2 seconds left before Russell Westbrook missed a long-distance three at the buzzer.
Trey Burke scored 25 points for the Mavericks (30-46), who snapped a two-game losing streak and won for just the fifth time in their last 23 games. Brunson scored 18 points while Devin Harris had 15 points and Dwight Powell added 11 points.
Dirk Nowitzki made what could be his final game against the Thunder a memorable one by collecting a season-high 13 rebounds and adding seven points in 26 minutes. It was the first double-digit rebound effort for Nowitzki since he had 10 against the Charlotte Hornets on March 24, 2018, and just the fifth time he has played more than 25 minutes this season.
Westbrook (25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) had a triple-double while Paul George (27 points, 11 rebounds) and Steven Adams (20 points, 15 rebounds) each had double-doubles for the Thunder (44-33), who began Sunday tied with the Spurs for the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City, who clinched a playoff berth when the Sacramento Kings lost to the Rockets on Saturday, have lost seven of their last nine games.
The Mavericks led by as many as eight in the first and extended the lead to 14 in the second before the Thunder scored the final nine points of the half to pull within 58-56.
Oklahoma City took their first lead since the first quarter at 64-62 on Adams' lay-up with 7:26 left in the third.
The Mavericks opened up a 93-84 lead with a 12-4 run early in the fourth, but the Thunder responded with a 14-4 run capped by a George free throw that gave Oklahoma City a 98-97 lead with 1:59 to go.
A Brunson free throw tied the game and Burke's lay-up put the Mavericks ahead 100-98. George responded with a three-pointer but Brunson then hit a jumper as Dallas retook the lead.
George and Schroder both missed shots before Jerami Grant capped the possession with a lay-up to give the Thunder the lead for the last time before Dallas locked in down the stretch to take the win.
Sacramento Kings 113-106 San Antonio Spurs
Buddy Hield scored 26 points to lead seven Sacramento players in double figures as the visiting Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-106 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the season series.
The Kings trailed 106-105 after the San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper with 2:53 to play but Sacramento responded with the final eight points of the game, capped by two free throws by Hield with 16.7 seconds left, to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Spurs are already guaranteed a spot in the postseason for the 22nd straight season, tying the NBA record. San Antonio have five regular season games remaining - three on the road - and holds onto seventh place in the Western Conference standings despite the defeat.
Willie Cauley-Stein added 17 points for the Kings, with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Harrison Barnes scoring 15 each, De'Aaron Fox hitting for 12 points, and Nemanja Bjelica and Yogi Ferrell pumping in 10 points apiece. Kosta Koufos led the Kings with 11 rebounds.
LaMarcus Aldridge paced the Spurs with 27 points and 18 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 18, DeRozan added 16, and Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli hit for 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the loss.
Sacramento have been eliminated from the playoffs for the 13th consecutive campaign. That put the Kings in the role of spoiler to keep San Antonio from moving up in the playoff pecking order, and Sacramento played like they had nothing to lose.
San Antonio led by as many as 10 points on three different occasions in the first quarter as Aldridge scored 18 of the Spurs' 30 points in the period.
The Kings rallied in the second quarter, taking a six-point advantage on Fox's jumper at the 5:35 mark of the period. Sacramento led 58-57 at halftime behind 11 points from Hield in the first two quarters.
Aldridge led all scorers with 20 points at the half while Gay added 12 and Belinelli hit for 10.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was not around for his team's dismal 19-point fourth quarter after being ejected from the game for arguing with an official in the third quarter.
Washington Wizards 95-90 Denver Nuggets
Troy Brown Jr scored 24 points, Thomas Bryant had 20 points and 14 rebounds and the Washington Wizards dealt the Denver Nuggets a home loss with a 95-90 upset on Sunday.
Jabari Parker also had 20 points for Washington, which had lost six of seven, and Bradley Beal added 17.
Denver's Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 14 rebounds before being ejected after receiving two quick technical fouls for arguing a non-foul call with 3:46 remaining.
Paul Millsap had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the hosts in Mile High City.
The Nuggets had won eight of 10 coming in and fell one game behind Golden State for the best record in the Western Conference with the loss after the Warriors whipped the Charlotte Hornets 137-90 on Sunday.
Bryant's dunk off an alley-oop pass from Beal put Washington up by four with 1:58 remaining.
Millsap missed two free throws with just over a minute left and Denver couldn't convert the offensive rebound. A technical foul on Beal led to another missed free throw but then the Wizards missed two shots at the other end.
After Denver missed a pair of shots, Washington rebounded and Parker hit one of two free throws to make it 95-90 with 11 seconds left, and Denver turned it over on their next time down.
The Nuggets missed their last nine field-goal attempts after leading by nine at halftime in one of its most disappointing defeats of the season.
Memphis Grizzlies 96-113 Los Angeles Clippers
Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points with 15 rebounds and as the Los Angeles Clippers moved into a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with a 113-96 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
Montrezl Harrell added 20 points, Lou Williams scored 17 and JaMychal Green added 15 as the Clippers (47-31) drew even with the Utah Jazz, six games behind the first-placed Golden State Warriors, but just two games behind the fourth-placed Portland Trail Blazers.
The top four teams in the conference have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. All eight teams in the Western Conference playoffs are now set, with the teams still fighting it out for positioning.
For the Grizzlies, Delon Wright scored 20 points and Chandler Parsons added 17 as Memphis - already out of playoff contention - lost for the fourth time in their last six games and for the sixth time in their last nine games.
Memphis was playing without guard Mike Conley, who was out with left ankle soreness a day after scoring 33 points in a comeback victory at Phoenix. The Grizzlies were also without Kyle Anderson (shoulder), Avery Bradley (shin), Jaren Jackson Jr (thigh), C.J. Miles (foot) and Joakim Noah (knee).
One night after scoring 34 points with 20 rebounds, Memphis' Jonas Valanciunas left the game with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter following a right ankle injury. He scored nine points with seven rebounds.
The Clippers led by as many as 20 points in the first half and took a 61-46 lead into the break after shooting 26 free throw attempts, making 22. They shot 52.9 percent from the field in the first two quarters.
The Clippers went back on the attack to open the second half, going on a 9-0 run to open a 70-46 lead and were able to put away their eighth victory in their last nine games from there. The only game the Clippers lost in that stretch was to the NBA-best Bucks at Milwaukee.
The Clippers finished 48 percent from the field and went 34 of 38 from the free-throw line as Doc Rivers' team won for the 13th time in their last 15 games, the best run in the NBA over that span.
