OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant had 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help rally the Golden State Warriors from 18 points down and beat the Washington Wizards 120-117 on Friday night, a game marred by a fight
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant had 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help rally the Golden State Warriors from 18 points down and beat the Washington Wizards 120-117 on Friday night, a game marred by a fight between Golden State’s Draymond Green and Washington’s Bradley Beal shortly before halftime that led to both being ejected.
Stephen Curry added 20 points and eight assists, hitting two 3s and two free throws in the final minute of the third quarter to get Golden State within 97-87 heading into the final 12 minutes. Then Klay Thompson and Durant made 3s early in the fourth for a four-point game. Thompson scored 18 points.
Durant’s jumper with 1:20 to go put Golden State up by five, but the defending champions still needed his two free throws with 9.4 seconds left. John Wall missed an off-balance 3 then Washington couldn’t capitalize on one final chance.
With 19.5 seconds left in the second quarter, Beal held the front of Green’s jersey with his left hand while grabbing Green around the jaw with his right. That enraged Green, who threw his right arm in frustration and wrapped arms with Beal as if hugging, then other players joined the scrum.
Green had to be pulled away from the skirmish by Andre Iguodala and Warriors security personnel. Green was tossed after getting his second technical foul. The back of his uniform was torn from near his right shoulder down to his waist.
RAPTORS 101, LAKERS 92
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half and Toronto rallied late for the first victory on its six-game trip.
Kyle Lowry added 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in his eighth triple-double for the Raptors, who beat the Lakers for the fifth straight time. Serge Ibaka had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Pascal Siakam added 18 points for Toronto.
The lead changed hands 15 times in the second half before Toronto took charge midway through the fourth quarter on a six-point flurry by DeRozan, the Compton native playing in his 600th game for the Raptors.
Lonzo Ball had five points, six assists and seven rebounds on his 20th birthday for the Lakers, who haven’t beaten Toronto since 2014.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, THUNDER 116
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 19 rebounds as Minnesota held off Oklahoma City.
Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler, back after missing two games with an upper respiratory infection, came up big down the stretch. He scored nine points in the final 4:09 to help the Wolves close it out. Butler finished with 25 points and was 11 of 13 at the free throw line.
Russell Westbrook led the way for Oklahoma City with 27 points. He had nine assists and eight rebounds, falling just shy of a triple-double. Carmelo Anthony added 23 points for the Thunder.
ROCKETS 109, HORNETS 93
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — James Harden had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Houston made 22 of 57 3-point attempts in a victory over Charlotte.
The Rockets nearly broke their own NBA regular season records of 24 3-pointers made and 61 3-pointers attempted set last December.
Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson led the 3-point barrage. Gordon was 6 of 16 from beyond the arc and had 26 points, while Anderson was 6 of 15 and finished with 21 points.
The Rockets took advantage of the Hornets’ cold shooting in the first half and took a 10-point lead at halftime. The Hornets started the second half on an 8-0 run but could never get the lead and the Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter.
KNICKS 107, NETS 86
NEW YORK (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis had 30 points and nine rebounds, and New York beat Brooklyn for its first victory of the season.
Rookie guard Frank Ntilikina also broke the ice with his first NBA points and finished with nine as the Knicks became the last team in the league to get a win this season.
They did it with a surprisingly strong defensive effort that shut down the NBA’s highest-scoring team, holding the Nets about 35 points below their average.
New York blew it open with a 25-6 run in the third quarter that turned a three-point lead into a 72-50 cushion and coasted from there.
D’Angelo Russell returned from a one-game absence with 15 points for the Nets, who looked nothing like the team that beat Eastern Conference champion Cleveland two nights earlier.
NUGGETS 105, HAWKS 100
ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Will Barton and Gary Harris each scored 18 points and Denver beat Atlanta in the Hawks’ home opener.
Emmanuel Mudiay had 16 points for Denver. It was the Nuggets’ first win in Atlanta in six years.
Jokic, the third-year center from Serbia, helped Denver overcome Atlanta’s 14 3-pointers.
Paul Millsap, the former four-time All-Star for the Hawks, had 16 points and six rebounds for Denver in his return to Atlanta.
MAGIC 114, SPURS 87
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Evan Fournier scored an efficient 25 points and Orlando handed San Antonio its first loss.
Fournier made 10 of 12 shots, including all four of his 3-point tries.
It was the third straight win for the Magic, who got 17 points from Jonathon Simmons, 16 from Aaron Gordon and 15 from Nikolai Vucevic. Orlando shot 57.1 percent while limiting the Spurs to 33.7 percent.
San Antonio lost for the first time in five games, and it wasn’t close. Orlando led by 14 after the first quarter, 27 points at halftime and by 36 points during the second half.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. Patty Mills added 12 points, and Pau Gasol scored 12 points with 11 rebounds.
