(The Sports Xchange) — – -DeMar DeRozan led the way with a team-high 32 points as the Toronto Raptors avenged an embarrassing December defeat to the Golden State Warriors with a 104 -98 points win Sunday night.
In the previous matchup between the clubs, Golden State erased a 27-point deficit by outscoring the Raptors 42-15 in the fourth quarter for a 112-103 victory on Dec. 3.
This time, however, Toronto (33-26) used an 11-0 run in the fourth to pull away and win for the seventh time in the last nine games.
Stephen Curry led the way with 34 points for the Warriors (36-24).
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Spurs 112, Mavericks 106
Tony Parker, back in the San Antonio lineup after missing six games, scored 22 points and handed out seven assists as the Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio (43-16) won for the sixth time in seven games while Dallas (36-25) lost to the Spurs for the seventh consecutive meeting.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22.
Parker, the Spurs’ point guard, had been assigned to the bench by coach Gregg Popovich during recent games to allow him to recover from mental fatigue and a variety of nagging injuries.
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Pacers 94, Jazz 91
David West scored 25 points and forward Paul George scored 22, leading the Indiana Pacers from a 12-point deficit to a narrow victory over the Utah Jazz.
West and George combined for 21 points in the third quarter, when a 13-3 run helped the Pacers (46-13) take the lead for good.
Gordon Hayward, an Indianapolis native, led Utah (21-38) with 21 points. A three-point attempt by Hayward as the buzzer sounded hit the rim and bounced away.
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Suns 129, Hawks 120
The Phoenix Suns tallied an NBA season-high 79 points in the first half as they raced to a victory over Atlanta.
Phoenix (35-24) edged ahead of the Dallas Mavericks (36-25) as the pair occupy the final two playoff positions in the Western Conference. Both teams are 1 1/2 games ahead of the ninth-placed Memphis Grizzlies (33-25).
Gerald Green led the Suns with 33 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-point attempts.
The Hawks (26-32) lost for the 11th time in 12 games.
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Thunder 116, Bobcats 99
Kevin Durant scored 28 points to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Russell Westbrook scored 26 points on 11-for-13 shooting as the Thunder (45-15) used a three-minute scoring blitz to put the contest away.
Charlotte (27-32) got 25 points from Al Jefferson in the defeat.
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Bulls 109, Knicks 90
Joakim Noah recorded his fifth career triple-double, leading the Chicago Bulls to victory over the New York Knicks.
Noah finished with 13 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds and Chicago (33-26) improved to 21-8 since Jan. 1, also winning nine of the last 10 games.
Carmelo Anthony had 21 points for the fading Knicks (21-39), who have dropped six in a row.
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Magic 92, 76ers 81
Tobias Harris scored a career-high 31 points, leading the Orlando Magic to a victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 14th consecutive game.
The Magic (19-43) beat the Sixers (15-45) for the second time in five days as Orlando center Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and game-high 17 rebounds.