Curry leads Warriors’ torching of Clippers

Stephen Curry torched the Los Angeles Clippers for a season-high 45 points in less than three quarters on Saturday, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 121-105 rout at Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

Curry connected on 11 of 21 field-goal attempts, 8 of 16 3-point attempts and 15 of 16 free throws, as Golden State earned their fourth straight win and its sixth victory in seven games. Curry also grabbed six rebounds and came up with three steals in 30 minutes.

Klay Thompson and David West added 10 points for the Warriors, while Draymond Green had nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Celtics 87, Nets 85

Rookie Jayson Tatum scored the final five points for Boston, who overcame a difficult shooting performance and eked out a victory over Brooklyn.

Tatum scored half of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston win its sixth straight and beat the Nets for the eighth consecutive meeting.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 21 points, but shot 8-of-22. Tatum recorded a career-best six blocked shots as Boston had 13 blocks while playing without Al Horford (sore left calf). 

Pistons 108, Rockets 101

Tobias Harris fired in 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and Detroit held on for a home victory over Houston.

Dwight Buycks scored a career-high 16 points as the Pistons bounced back from a 36-point loss at Philadelphia on Friday. Ish Smith tossed in 17 points for the Pistons. Detroit centre Andre Drummond, the league’s second-leading rebounder, sat out for the second time in three games due to a rib contusion.

The Rockets fell to 1-2 since star guard James Harden was sidelined by a hamstring strain, and they have lost seven of their past nine. Chris Paul led Houston with 16 points and 13 assists, and he added seven rebounds.

Pacers 125, Bulls 86

After missing four games with a sore right knee, Victor Oladipo showed no signs of rustiness in scoring 23 points in 23 minutes to lead Indiana to a rout of visiting Chicago.

Oladipo, who hit 9 of 11 shots, also had nine assists, five steals and six rebounds as the Pacers snapped a five-game losing streak. Domantas Sabonis scored 22 on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench for Indiana.

The Bulls, who beat Dallas 127-124 on Friday night, looked like a tired team on the second night of a back-to-back, making just 30 of 80 shots (37.5 per cent). 

Cavaliers 131, Magic 127

Isaiah Thomas returned to the starting line-up and scored 19 points as Cleveland outlasted Orlando.

LeBron James finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He also had six steals. Kevin Love had a big game with 27 points. Cleveland won for just the second time in six games and is in third place in the Eastern Conference behind Boston and Toronto.

Bucks 110, Wizards 103

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 of his 34 points in the second half as Milwaukee overcame a slow start and earned a victory over host Washington. The Bucks had not won in their past six visits to the nation’s capital.

Eric Bledsoe finished with 21 points for Milwaukee, and Khris Middleton had 20. Antetokounmpo, who had 12 rebounds, and John Henson (11 points, 11 rebounds) finished with double-doubles.

Bradley Beal’s 20 points led the Wizards. Marcin Gortat had 17 points, and John Wall contributed 16 points and 16 assists. Markieff Morris amassed 14 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.

Timberwolves 116, Pelicans 98

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as host Minnesota continued their dominance of New Orleans.

The Timberwolves won the two previous meetings in November, both of which were played in New Orleans, by scores of 108-94 and 120-102. The Pelicans had won their last three road games by a combined 39 points.

Kings 106, Nuggets 98

Rookie De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points, and Sacramento never trailed while capitalising on 26 turnovers by visiting Denver.

The Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein added 17 points and set a career high with seven steals.