(The Sports Xchange) – Stephen Curry scored 26 points and Kevin Durant added 21, including 11 in fourth quarter, to help the Golden State Warriors hold off a late rally and beat the Utah Jazz.
Draymond Green added 13 points for the Warriors while Klay Thompson and Patrick McCaw chipped in 10 apiece.
Joe Ingles scored a career-high 21 points to lead Utah.
Golden State wasted no time overwhelming a shorthanded Utah squad. One-third of the Jazz roster was not available to play because of injuries and the remaining healthy players had trouble reining in the potent Warriors’ offense.Utah outscored the Warriors 9-2 to open the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 84-79 on a three-pointer from Ingles. Durant preserved Golden State’s lead with a series of free throws and a pair of baskets.
Bulls 95, Spurs 91
The Bulls led start to finish in a 95-91 victory to end a three-game losing streak, handing the Spurs their first road loss of the season.
Rajon Rondo led the way for Chicago with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Dwyane Wade finished with 19 points and Jimmy Butler added 13.
Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez each had 12 for the Bulls, who led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and fended off a strong San Antonio comeback attempt in the fourth.
Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 24 points and Patty Mills added 16 points for the Spurs.
Wizards 92, Nuggets 85
Bradley Beal scored 26 points and John Wall had 15 as the Washington Wizards fended off the Denver Nuggets.
Markieff Morris also scored 15 for the Wizards.
Nikola Jokic had 17 points and Danilo Gallinari scored 14 for the Nuggets, who have lost five of six.
Denver led by 14 points in the first quarter, but faded over the final three periods.
76ers 99, Pelicans 88
Dario Saric scored eight consecutive points in a decisive fourth-quarter surge while Ersan Ilyasova had a team-high 23 points as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a 23-game road losing streak with a 99-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Sixers (5-18) entered the game with the NBA’s worst record, but had five players score in double figures with guard Segio Rodriquez scoring 16, Joel Embiid and Nik Stauskas 14 each, and Saric 13.
The Pelicans (7-16) lost their fourth consecutive game despite Anthony Davis’ 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Raptors 124, Timberwolves 110
DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Kyle Lowry added 25 points and 11 assists as the Toronto Raptors came back to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Zach LaVine scored 29 points, Anthony Wiggins added 25 and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but consecutive three-pointers by Lowry and Patrick Patterson had the Raptors ahead by 12 points with less than five minutes to play.
Grizzlies 88, Trail Blazers 86
Reserve guard Toney Douglas connected on two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to an 88-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.The Grizzlies rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to win their fifth straight. Center Marc Gasol led Memphis with 36 points and JaMychal Green added a career-high 18 rebounds.
The Blazers were led by CJ McCollum with 24 points.
Memphis trailed by 13 with 7:14 left, but put together a 14-4 run which ended on back-to-back three-pointers by Gasol and Troy Daniels.