Klay Thompson broke the eighth tie of the final 9:07 with two free throws with 46.1 seconds remaining Saturday night and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the host Boston Celtics 115-111 in a nationally televised showdown of streaking teams.
Jan 26, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) works against Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the second half of a 115-111 victory by Golden State at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The win was the Warriors’ 10th straight overall and ninth in a row on the road, the longest in the NBA this season. Boston, which had won its last five games, had a 10-game home winning streak snapped.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors, the two-time defending champions, with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Stephen Curry finished with 24 points and Thompson 21.
Thompson’s free throws came after Marcus Smart nailed a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play to draw the teams even at 111. The Celtics took two shots at reclaiming the upper hand, but Smart and Al Horford missed 3-pointers.
Grizzlies 106, Pacers 103
Mike Conley scored 22 points and Jaren Jackson added 20 as Memphis ended an eight-game losing streak with a victory that sent visiting Indiana to a defeat in their first game since Victor Oladipo’s season-ending injury.
Marc Gasol scored 18 points as the Grizzlies won for just the second time in their last 16 games.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for the Pacers, whose three-game winning streak came to an end one game after Oladipo was lost for the year because of a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee suffered in Wednesday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Nuggets 126, 76ers 110
Nikola Jokic registered 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season as host Denver knocked off short-handed Philadelphia.
Mason Plumlee scored 17 points and Will Barton added 16 as the Nuggets won for the 12th time in their past 16 games. Torrey Craig tallied 15 points, Malik Beasley added 14 and Monte Morris had 10.
JJ Redick scored 22 points and Corey Brewer added season bests of 20 points and four steals for the 76ers, who were without Joel Embiid (back), Jimmy Butler (wrist) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring).
Trail Blazers 120, Hawks 111
CJ McCollum notched his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as host Portland defeated Atlanta.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Trail Blazers, who won for the fifth time in six games. Seth Curry scored a season-high 22 points, while Al-Farouq Aminu had 17, Moe Harkless 16 and Jusuf Nurkic 15.
Trae Young scored 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting to go with eight assists for the Hawks, who have split the first two games of their seven-game road trip. John Collins added 21 points for Atlanta.
Portland guard Damian Lillard sat out the game with a sore left knee.
Spurs 126, Pelicans 114
LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 28 points in just three quarters of play, and Rudy Gay added 22 points, including 16 in the third quarter, as visiting San Antonio rolled past short-handed New Orleans.
Aldridge, who also had 12 rebounds, was questionable to play right up until tipoff because of a sore left wrist. He scored 10 of the Spurs’ first 20 points on the way to his 15th double-double of the season.
San Antonio led by just three points at the half but scored 13 of the first 17 points of the third quarter to build its lead to 73-61. The Spurs eventually pushed their advantage to as many as 18 points in the quarter before settling for a 96-85 lead heading for the final period.
—Field Level Media