December 30, 2017 11:49 PM
Stephen Curry made a sensational return from injury by scoring 38 points with a season-high 10 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 141-128 on Saturday night.
Curry shot 13 for 17 and 10 of 13 from deep in 26 minutes for his ninth 30-point game this season after missing 11 games with a sprained right ankle. His mere presence brought energy to the Warriors and all of Oracle Arena, and he spent much of the fourth quarter pacing and gesturing in delight while cheering his teammates with a towel draped over his head.
Kevin Durant added 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 21 points as the Warriors wrapped up nearly three weeks at home in California. Zaza Pachulia scored a season-best 17 points and also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Marc Gasol led six Memphis players in double figures with 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting.
JAZZ 104, CAVALIERS 101
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points, and Utah handed LeBron James and Cleveland their third straight defeat.
James had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists on his 33rd birthday as Cleveland lost at Utah for the sixth straight time. The Cavs' three-game losing streak is their second this season.
Mitchell blew by J.R. Smith with the dribble and finished a layup in traffic over James with 35 seconds remaining to give the Jazz a 100-97 lead. James then missed a layup, and Utah finished off the game from the free-throw line. The Jazz snapped a three-game losing streak.
Mitchell shot 10 for 17 from the field. Ricky Rubio had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
James did not record a point or an assist during the game-changing third quarter, which Utah opened with a 23-3 run. Cleveland connected on just 4 of 19 shots in the quarter.
PISTONS 93, SPURS 79
DETROIT (AP) — Andre Drummond had 14 points and 21 rebounds, and Detroit held San Antonio to its lowest point total of the season.
Playing without starting guards Reggie Jackson (right ankle sprain) and Avery Bradley (sore right groin), the Pistons defended gamely and never trailed. Reggie Bullock scored 22 points for Detroit and rookie Luke Kennard added 20 — both were career highs.
Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points for San Antonio, which shot 37 percent from the field and 5 of 26 from 3-point range.
Detroit led 24-13 after the first, which equaled San Antonio's lowest-scoring quarter of the season. It was 35-20 before the Pistons hit a dry spell of their own toward the end of the half. A 16-4 run by the Spurs left Detroit with only a three-point lead at halftime.
The Pistons managed to maintain their advantage, though. Kennard's outside shooting gave Detroit a lift on a night when neither team was impressive offensively, and Bullock was sharp throughout in just his 12th start of the season.
76ERS 107, NUGGETS 102
DENVER (AP) — Dario Saric had 20 points and nine rebounds and keyed a second-half run to lead the Philadelphia over Denver.
JJ Redick had 18 points, Robert Covington had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jarrod Bayless scored 14 points for the 76ers.
Philadelphia played without star center Joel Embiid, who flew directly from Portland to Phoenix, where the team will join him for Sunday's game. Embiid is averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds per game. The 76ers are 2-7 when he does not play.
Jamal Murray led Denver with 31 points and had eight rebounds; Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists; and Gary Harris had 17 points.
KNICKS 105, PELICANS 103
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Jarrett Jack made two free throws to break a tie with 9 seconds remaining and New York beat New Orleans.
Jack finished with 15 points, and Michael Beasley scored 15 off the bench for the Knicks, who snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans and missed a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer. DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 19 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 13 and E'Twaun Moore had 12.
Cousins made a 3-pointer and scored on a drive to give New Orleans a 99-91 lead with 2:57 left before New York fought back.
Porzingis scored seven straight points to give the Knicks a 103-101 lead with 38 seconds left.
HEAT 117, MAGIC 111
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Johnson scored 22 points in the third quarter and Goran Dragic had 14 in the fourth to help Miami overcome an 18-point deficit and beat Orlando.
Johnson finished with a season-high 31 points, and Dragic had 25 points and eight assists.
Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 39 points, and Evan Fournier added 23.
Dragic's baseline runner with 2:03 remaining put the Heat up 107-105 and he added a layup to push the lead to four. After Gordon's three free throws with 1:12 left, Johnson hit a 3-pointer to give Miami a four-point lead.
The Magic (12-25) lost for the 10th time in 11 games despite shooting 54 percent. The Heat (19-17) shot 63 percent in the second half in winning for the eighth time in 12 games.
HAWKS 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 89
ATLANTA (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, Marco Belinelli added 14 points and Atlanta beat Portland.
Shabazz Napier finished with 21 points and CJ McCollum had 18 for Portland, which was coming off arguably its best win of the season, rallying Thursday from 18 down in the third quarter to beat Philadelphia.
The Blazers led Atlanta, the NBA's worst team, by 11 early in the third, but coach Terry Stotts called timeout at 3:47 mark of the period after Schroder's 3 put the Hawks up 67-66.
Atlanta went ahead 77-69 early in the fourth on Marco Belinelli's jumper. The lead swelled to 12 on John Collins' three-point play and to 13 on Ersan Ilyasova's 3 before Schroder's three-point play made it 95-80 with 4:51 remaining.
Atlanta became the last team to reach double digits in wins.
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