NBA roundup: Warriors roll to best 52-game start

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[February 11, 2016]  The Sports Xchange
 
 PHOENIX -- Golden State guard Stephen Curry scored 26 points and Klay Thompson had 24 when the Warriors' extended the best start on NBA history with a victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday.

The defending NBA champion Warriors will enter the All-Star break at 48-4, one game better than the previous best 52-game start in league history. They have won their last 11.

Curry made 5-of-10 3-point attempts and has made a 3-pointer in 123 consecutive regular-season games, four short of Atlanta guard Kyle Korver's NBA record.

Thompson also made five 3-pointers when the Warriors went 13-of-37 from 3-point range.

Spurs 98, Magic 96

ORLANDO, Fla. -- All-Star Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and hit the game winning jumper with nine-tenths of a second remaining to lead San Antonio to a victory over Orlando.

The Spurs won their sixth consecutive game and go into the All-Star break with the best record in franchise history.

LaMarcus Aldridge recorded 21 points and seven rebounds. Reserve Patty Mills had 17 points and hit a trio of 3-pointers. Danny Green had 12 points, including eight in the final period.

Timberwolves 117, Raptors 112

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota completed its biggest comeback of the season to beat Toronto at Target Center.

Minnesota trailed by 18 points before a big second half lifted the Timberwolves to a win in their last game before the NBA All-Star break. Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns scored a career-high 35 points and Andrew Wiggins added 26.

The victory gave the Timberwolves more wins than they had all of last season when they won just 16 games.

Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan matched Towns with 35 points, but it wasn't enough for Toronto, which came into the game having won 14 of its previous 15.

Celtics 139, Clippers 134 (OT)

BOSTON -- Boston blew a 13-point, third-quarter lead but then rallied from behind, forced overtime and defeated Los Angeles in a wild one.

Boston guard Evan Turner scored seven consecutive overtime points for his team as the Celtics, who trailed by six with 3:18 in regulation and again by six when J.J. Redick opened OT with six straight points, came back again. They stormed to their eighth straight home win and their 10th in their past 12 games overall as both teams hit the All-Star break.

The loss, Clippers coach Doc Rivers' first in five games against his old team, kept Los Angeles from completing a sweep of its four-game road. It also spoiled the latest TD Garden return of Celtics great Paul Pierce, the forward scoring just six points.

Cavaliers 120, Lakers 111

CLEVELAND -- The night began with Cleveland saying farewell to Kobe Bryant. Now Cavaliers fans can only hope they aren't waving goodbye to Kevin Love, too.

Love left the game in the final minute of the second quarter and did not return with a left shoulder injury in the Cavaliers' victory against Los Angeles in both teams' final game before the All-Star break. It is the same shoulder Love had surgically repaired last spring after he dislocated it in a playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points and LeBron James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who enter the break on a three-game winning streak and focused on the health of their power forward.

Hawks 113, Bulls 90

CHICAGO -- Atlanta rebounded from back-to-back losses with a victory against Chicago at the United Center.

Paced by eight players who scored double figures and another strong shooting performance from the 3-point line, the Hawks took control in the second quarter and never let up.

Dennis Schroder led the way with 18 points, Jeff Teague had 17 points, Al Horford finished with 16 points, and the Hawks also got double-figures from Paul Millsap (15 points), Mike Muscala (11 points), Kyle Korver (10 points), Thabo Sefolosha (10 points) and Mike Scott (10 points).

Pelicans 100, Jazz 96

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis shook off a woeful offensive start by hitting a rolling left-handed hook in the lane and a 3-pointer from the right wing in the final minute to lift New Orleans to a victory over Utah at the Smoothie King Center.

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The victory for the Pelicans snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Jazz.

Davis' hook in the lane put New Orleans up 94-92 with 58 seconds left. After Utah forward Derrick Favors hit one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 94-93 with 47.1 seconds left, Davis, who finished with 19 points, nailed a 3-point jumper from the right wing with 35.7 seconds remaining.

Hornets 117, Pacers 95

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kemba Walker scored 25 points to lead a balanced attack as Charlotte crushed sluggish Indiana.

Charlotte came into the game ranked 29th in the NBA in field-goal percentage at 42.8 percent but shot 51.7 percent (45 of 87).

Jeremy Lamb added 16 points for the Hornets, Jeremy Lin scored 14, Cody Zeller and Nicolas Batum had 11 each and Frank Kaminsky contributed 10.

Kings 114, 76ers 110

PHILADELPHIA -- DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 2:18 left, as Sacramento rallied for a victory over Philadelphia in the teams' final game before the All-Star break.

Reserve Darren Collison added 25 points, 19 in the final 13 minutes, and Rudy Gay had 22 for the Kings, who trailed by 17 points in the third quarter and by 11 with 9:44 remaining. Cousins also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 15 assists for the Kings, now 22-31 after snapping a four-game losing streak. It was just their second victory in 10 games.

Grizzlies 109, Nets 90

NEW YORK -- Mike Conley scored 20 points as Memphis had little difficulty in its first game without center Marc Gasol and pulled away in the second half for a victory over Brooklyn.

Reserve Jeff Green added 12 of his 18 points in the third quarter when the Grizzlies made 7 of 11 3-pointers and shot 61 percent from the floor.

Zach Randolph made his first start of the season for the Grizzlies at center in place of Gasol and added 15 points. JaMychal Green tied his season high with 13 points and former Nets swingman Vince Carter contributed 11.

Nuggets 103, Pistons 92

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Will Barton scored 20 points off the bench, including 15 during the fourth quarter, and Denver downed depleted Detroit at The Palace.

The shooting guard made 7 of 12 field-goal attempts and also pulled down five rebounds. Reserve Jusuf Nurkic powered for 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who bounced back from a last-second loss to Brooklyn.

Denver's rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay had 14 points and six assists and small forward Danilo Gallinari contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Trail Blazers 116, Rockets 103

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard scored 31 points and handed out nine assists as Portland defeated Houston.

Moe Harkless notched season highs in points (19) and rebounds (13) for the Trail Blazers, who moved past the Rockets in the Western Conference standings. Portland, 12-3 in its past 15 games, climbed into a tie with Utah for seventh place in the West.

James Harden collected 34 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Dwight Howard scored 28 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for Houston, which lost for the sixth time in eight games.

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