NBA: Steph Curry leads Golden State Warriors' rout of Cleveland Cavaliers; Utah Jazz beat Philadelphia 76ers
Sky Sports' live coverage of the NBA continues on Thursday night as the Toronto Raptors take on the Milwaukee Bucks, along with the All-Star starters announcement, live on Sky Sports Arena
Wednesday 17 February 2021 09:48, UK
A round-up of Monday night's NBA action, as the Golden State Warriors routed the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Utah Jazz edged Philadelphia 76ers, and the Washington Wizards spoiled John Wall's return to the US capital.
Cleveland Cavaliers 98-129 Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry had 36 points in 30 minutes and Draymond Green tied his career-high with 16 assists, lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 129-98 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers in San Francisco.
In a matchup of the NBA Finalists for four years in a row from 2015-18, Curry shot 13-for-19 from the field and 7-for-11 on 3-pointers en route to his game-high point total.
It was his 10th straight game with at least 27 points on 50 percent or better shooting as he became the first guard since Michael Jordan (1995-96) with at least 25 points and 50 percent shooting in 10 straight games.
Facing a team playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors gradually pulled away from the road-weary visitors.
The difference was just 10 before Curry and Michael Mulder hit 3-pointers to trigger an eight-point run midway through the third period that put Golden State in command at 90-72.
Golden State led 101-84 at period's end, and neither Curry nor Green played in the final quarter.
Green complemented his 16 assists with six points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.
The Warriors improved to 9-4 this season in games immediately following a loss, while the Cavaliers lost their eighth straight.
Philadelphia 76ers 123-134 Utah Jazz
Jordan Clarkson helped the Utah Jazz overcome big nights by Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris while leading the NBA's hottest team to a 134-123 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Salt Lake City.
Clarkson came off the bench to score a team-high 40 points, two shy of his career-high and the most with the Jazz, to lift Utah to its eighth straight win and the 19th victory in 20 games in a matchup of the teams with the best records in the West and East.
Playing without Joel Embiid, a late scratch because of back tightness, the Sixers managed to make a competitive contest thanks to a near-triple-double effort by Simmons (42 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds) along with 36 points and 10 rebounds from Harris.
Harris scored five points in a row late in the fourth to cut the Jazz lead, once as big as 16 points, down to 113-109. But Donovan Mitchell made a driving score and then Clarkson hit three free throws and drained a 3-pointer during an 8-2 run for Utah.
Royce O'Neale helped seal the win for the Jazz with three 3-pointers in the final minutes.
Houston Rockets 119-131 Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal scored 37 points as the Washington Wizards spoiled John Wall's return to the US capital with a 131-119 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Beal made 14 of 24 shots from the field and Davis Bertans sank five 3-pointers to highlight his 18-point performance for the Wizards, who posted consecutive wins for just the second time this season.
Russell Westbrook, who was acquired in the December deal that sent Wall to Houston, recorded a triple-double while playing in both games of a back-to-back set for the first time this season. Westbrook had 16 points - albeit on 8 of 22 shooting from the floor - to go along with 15 assists and 13 rebounds.
Wall scored 22 of his season-high 29 points in the first half and added 11 assists in his return to Washington. The 30-year-old spent the last decade with the Wizards after the team selected him with the top overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.
David Nwaba collected a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds and Jae'Sean Tate added 18 points for the injury-riddled Rockets, who have dropped a season-high six in a row.
Chicago Bulls 120-112 Indiana Pacers
Zach LaVine continued to be prolific and clutch as he scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 120-112 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
LaVine scored 12 of the Bulls' final 15 in regulation and both Garrett Temple and Coby White scored clutch buckets in the extra period to help Chicago secure its first road win over the Pacers since March 29, 2016.
LaVine recorded his 12th 30-point game of the season and eclipsed the 20-point mark for the 13th consecutive game.
White (19 points, seven rebounds, eight assists) and Temple (16 points, four rebounds) each made clutch buckets in the extra period as the Bulls picked up their first overtime win of the season and first this season over the Pacers.
White's drive to the hoop with 1:51 left and Temple's jumper later with just over a minute left gave Chicago seven-point leads as the Bulls outscored Indiana 15-7 in overtime.
Atlanta Hawks 112-123 New York Knicks
Julius Randle delivered a stellar performance with a season-high 44 points, nine rebounds and five assists as hosts New York Knicks recorded a 123-112 victory over the slumping Atlanta Hawks.
Randle helped the Knicks match a season high with their third straight win and fifth in seven games. Randle hit two clutch shots during a 14-5 spurt over the final 3:50.
Randle reached 40 points when he hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:18 remaining as the shot clock wound down to give New York a 112-107 lead.
He connected with RJ Barrett for a 3-pointer that made it 115-107 nearly a minute later, and clinched the win by hitting a 14-footer with 96 seconds left for a 117-109 lead.
Randle shot 14 of 22 from the field and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers as the Knicks shot 50.6 percent and hit a season-high 17 3-pointers.
Barrett added 21 points while rookie Immanuel Quickley contributed 16 for New York.
Miami Heat 118-125 LA Clippers
Playing without Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverley and Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers got a game-high 32 points from Marcus Morris Sr. and held off the Miami Heat, 125-118 in Los Angeles.
Ivica Zubac added 22 off the bench for LA.
The Clippers, who came into Monday's contest shooting an NBA-best 42.2 percent from 3-point range, went 15-of-32 against the Heat. Morris did his part in keeping them on pace when he scored 26 of his game-high in the first half, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Morris finished 6-of-8 from outside. Amir Coffey made his first four 3-point attempts before halftime. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from long range.
Luke Kennard knocked down a pair of important, late 3-pointers. He came off the bench and made back-to-back from outside, part of a 17-6 Clippers run that gave them a cushion down the stretch.
The two teams went back-and-forth most of the night, with Los Angeles leading by a point with 7:41 to go. The Clippers finished on a torrid offensive pace.
Kennard scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Lou Williams scored seven of his 18 points in the final period.
The win is Los Angeles' fourth straight, and second with a significantly depleted lineup.
Brooklyn Nets 136-125 Sacramento Kings
Kyrie Irving established season bests of 40 points and nine 3-pointers and the Brooklyn Nets set a franchise record with 27 treys en route to a 136-125 victory over hosts Sacramento Kings.
James Harden made six 3-pointers while recording 29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds as Brooklyn prevailed despite the absence of Kevin Durant (hamstring). The Nets, who attempted 47 treys, shot 57.4 percent from behind the arc and 57.3 percent overall.
The old franchise mark of 24 3-pointers was accomplished in a 124-96 rout of the Chicago Bulls on April 7, 2018.
Hassan Whiteside accumulated season bests of 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings, who lost their fourth consecutive contest. Cory Joseph added a season-best 22 points and Buddy Hield made six 3-pointers while scoring 21 points.
Irving made two 3-pointers while scoring eight points during the run and Harden's 3-pointer capped it to give Brooklyn a 102-80 advantage with 2:44 remaining.
The Nets led 107-88 entering the final stanza, and the lead reached 125-98 when Harden knocked down the record breaking 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining.
Sacramento later ripped off 13 straight points to pull within 128-113 lead on Tyrese Haliburton's 3-pointer with 3:47 left before Brooklyn staved off the charge to defeat the Kings for the fifth consecutive time.
