PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephen Curry had 22 points and the Golden State Warriors rallied down the stretch for a 100-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA on Thursday night.
Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points for the Warriors, who had a 16-1 run in the final quarter for their third straight win and ninth in the last 10 games. Golden State have already clinched a play-in spot but can potentially improve their playoff seeding in the final two games.
Deandre Ayton led Portland with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Scoot Henderson had 18 points and 12 assists. It was his eighth game this season with at least 10 assists, which leads all rookies.
The Trail Blazers, sitting in second-to-last in the Western Conference, have won just two of their last 15 games.
Sacramento Kings 123, New Orleans Pelicans 135
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson each scored 31 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat Sacramento 1Kings 35-123 to complete a five-game season sweep of the Kings.
Williamson went to the locker room late in the second quarter with an apparent left wrist injury, but returned to score 23 points in the second half.
McCollum tied a season high with nine 3-pointers in 12 attempts and added seven assists to help the Pelicans improve their chances of avoiding the play-in tournament. They are sixth in the Western Conference, the final guaranteed playoff spot.
Utah Jazz 124, Houston Rockets 121
ALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Luka Samanic scored a season-high 22 points to help the Utah Jazz snap a 13-game losing streak with a 124-121 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Keyonte George chipped in 20 points for the Jazz, who finished 21-20 at home this season. Brice Sensabaugh added 17 points and Talen Horton-Tucker had 16. Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored a season-high 14 points and added nine rebounds.
Houston made 21 3-pointers and outscored Utah in second-chance points and fast-break points. The Jazz persevered and found a way to get in the win column for the first time since mid-March and end the third-longest losing streak in franchise history.
Boston Celtics 109, New York Knicks 118
BOSTON (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 39 points in three quarters and the New York Knicks kept up their quest to finish with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics 118-109 on Thursday night.
“We made shots and made the right plays,” Brunson said. “Obviously, we know they’re the top dog in the East. Whenever you play against them, it’s always a good measuring stick to see where you’re at. We played pretty well, but we know what they’re capable of doing. We just had their number tonight.”
One day after clinching a playoff spot, the Knicks pulled within a game of the Milwaukee Bucks for second, with each team having two games remaining. New York would have to win both and have the Bucks lose their games at Oklahoma City and Orlando, because Milwaukee has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Detroit Pistons 105 ,Chicago Bulls 127
DETROIT (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 39 points and the Chicago Bulls sent the Detroit Pistons to their franchise-record 67th loss of the season, 127-105 on Thursday night.
Detroit (13-67) broke the franchise mark set by the 1979-80 team.
“You can learn a lot about players at this time of year,” Detroit coach Monty Williams said. “I know, for myself, I earned a lot of money (as a player) playing down the stretch and hanging in there.”
Chicago (38-42) wrapped up home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference play-in game against Atlanta.
