Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Golden State star Stephen Curry scored 49 points, including the game-winning free throws in the waning seconds, as the Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-108 in NBA Cup action on Friday. For the second time in three days, Curry propelled the Warriors to a victory over Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs, following up a 46-point performance on Wednesday with another masterpiece.
Curry connected on 16 of 26 shots from the field, drilling nine three-pointers and finishing a perfect eight for eight at the free throw line as the Warriors came out on top in a tense battle in Texas that included 13 lead changes. French star Wembanyama scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox added 24 points and 10 assists for the Spurs, who led 79-77 going into the fourth quarter, only to be undone by 14 points from Curry in the final frame. Wembanyama scored 10 in the fourth, his tip-in layup putting San Antonio up 108-105 with 1:05 remaining.
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Golden State’s Jimmy Butler drove for a layup to cut the deficit to one, and after Wembanyama blocked a Butler shot, Fox fouled Curry, who calmly stepped up and made the deciding free throws. Curry said the two “gritty, gutsy, professional wins” in San Antonio could set a tone for a Warriors team trying to find their identity. “That was fun,” he said. “They’ve got a great team. To come in here and win back-to-back games is huge. We all did it together,” Curry said. “I know the points look great, but we all did it together to win. That’s what we’re trying to build on.”
Friday marked the third night of group play in the league’s in-season tournament, in its third edition this year. Teams were drawn into six groups for round-robin matches that also count in the regular season standings. Eight teams advance to the Cup quarter-finals, with the semi-finals and final in Las Vegas in December.
In New Orleans, the Los Angeles Lakers improved to 2-0 in Cup play as they bounced back from a blowout loss at Oklahoma City with a 118-104 victory over the Pelicans. Austin Reaves scored 31 points, Luka Doncic added 24 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists, and Deandre Ayton chipped in 20 points on impressive 10 of 11 shooting for Los Angeles, who are still awaiting the season debut of superstar LeBron James. “After the dud we threw out in Oklahoma City, you need to bounce back with a win,” Reaves said. “I thought we played pretty good for the most part tonight. We’ve obviously got to clean some things up, but pretty good.”
Veteran James Harden produced a 41-point triple-double to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 133-127 double-overtime triumph over the Mavericks in Dallas. Harden, 36, played a career-high 51 minutes and scored 10 points over the two overtime periods as the Clippers held on to halt a six-game skid.
The injury-depleted Detroit Pistons powered to their ninth straight victory, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-105. The Pistons extended their streak despite missing key contributors Cade Cunningham, Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren. Javonte Green led Detroit with 21 points and nine rebounds. Daniss Jenkins added 19 points as six Pistons players scored in double figures.
In New York, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 39 points, and Landry Shamet added a career-high 36 points off the bench as the short-handed Knicks beat the Miami Heat 140-132. The Knicks were already without star Jalen Brunson, and they lost forward OG Anunoby in the first quarter to a hamstring strain. But Jordan Clarkson added 24 points off the bench, and fellow reserve Josh Hart posted a triple-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Knicks withstood a 38-point performance from Miami’s Norman Powell.
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one-game injury absence to deliver 25 points, seven rebounds, and 18 assists as the Bucks outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 147-134 in overtime. Kyle Kuzma scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who had seven players score in double figures.
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