Westbrook, Durant help Thunder withstand George’s 45 points
Maybe the Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant show is becoming so routine, even the Oklahoma City Thunder are taking it for granted. George sure didn’t make it easy. He wound up making 14 off 29 from the field and 13 off 15 from the free-throw line, had seven rebounds, four assists and four 3-pointers. But it was the one he missed, with 5.9 seconds left, that will gnaw at him. Instead of tying the score at 112, the Pacers were forced to foul Durant twice. Durant made the first three before intentionally missing the final free throw to run out the clock. After Westbrook finished with his league-leading 14th triple-double of the season and Durant had 33 points and 13 rebounds to help the Thunder overcome Paul George’s 45 points in a 115-111 victory Saturday night at Indiana.
The Spurs held the Warriors to a season-low point total.
The Warriors lost their seventh match in the regular season to the San Antonio Spurs, who continued their dominance at home, even against the most dominant team. LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 87-79 on Saturday night to maintain their perfect record at the AT&T Center this season and extend their home winning streak over the defending champions to 33 straight regular-season games.
San Antonio did it by having Tim Duncan come off the bench for only the third time in his career to counter Golden State’s smaller lineup. Things didn’t go according to plan for Steph Curry as the Spurs used a bruising defense to slow him in a tense showdown between the league’s top two teams.
Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who have won 44 straight at home in the regular season, tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history with the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
Nets blew by James and the Cleveland Cavaliers down the stretch for a 104-95 victory Thursday night.
It’s always a big deal when LeBron James goes to New York City. LeBron James was so good for three quarters of the game that the only one who could stop him were his own teammates. The fourth quarter belonged to Brooklyn. Shane Larkin added 16 points and seven assists for the Nets in his return to the starting lineup. Bojan Bogdanovic had 12 points. The Cavaliers finished 10 off 38 on 3-pointers, needing a make by Jordan McRae after the Nets had taken control to extend their franchise-record streak to 10 games with 10 or more makes. But they misfired way too often, with Kyrie Irving finishing 6 for 22 from the field and Kevin Love went 5 for 14. It looked as if James would rescue his teammates when he scored 15 points in a dominant third quarter. He started 10 for 10 before he missed when attempting to follow up Irving’s missed layup but appeared to be affected by center Timofey Mozgov jumping as well, and he gave the Russian a long look after the Nets got the rebound off his miss. But James quickly added three more baskets before the end of the period as the Cavs surged into an 83-80 lead. James started the fourth quarter on the bench and the Nets took advantage. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored six quick points, and the Cavs’ lead was 92-90 before the Nets hit them with the decisive spurt.
Ex- Warrior Power forward / Center gets Championship ring.
Oracle Arena stood up one last time for David Lee who played a big role in last year’s Championship for the Warriors. Lee got a loud ovation during pregame introductions as he made his first start for Dallas against his former team. The Warriors then played a video tribute to Lee, and Steph Curry then walked to center court to say a few words, crediting Lee for “changing the culture” around the team. Curry then presented Lee with his championship ring. Klay Thompson scored 40 points and Stephen Curry added 33 as the Splash Brothers combined for 14 3-pointers in a 128-120 victory Friday night over a Dallas Mavericks team missing Dirk Nowitzki and two other starters.
NBA Injuries.
Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell was carried off the court Friday night after spraining his right ankle. Russell’s availability for Sunday’s game will depend on how his ankle responds to treatment, but it’s worth noting that Russell was able to stand and walk on his injured right ankle following Friday’s game.
Andre Iguodala (ankle) was doubtful for Sunday. Steve Kerr said that while Andre Iguodala is making good progress, he doesn’t anticipate him playing Sunday vs. the 76ers.
Bulls 1995-96 record on the line – The Chase for 73 wins.
In the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls accomplished what no team had done before or since -winning 70 games and finishing the season with a history-making 72-10 record. This season, the Golden State Warriors started with a 24-0 run before falling in Milwaukee on the road. They make a run at a 70-win season (and perhaps the Bulls’ all-time wins mark). “We know we can make history,” Thompson said after today’s win against the Mavs (65th Win).
