Golden State Beats Short-handed Bulls, NBA Scores

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Published on February 9 2017 6:13 am
Last Updated on February 9 2017 6:14 am

By ESPN

The Golden State Warriors got their pass-happy, 3-point swishing groove back.

That's what they do. When they lose, they find a way to find themselves the very next time out. Never a losing streak.

Kevin Durant responded from his worst game since joining the Warriors with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and Golden State beat the short-handed Chicago Bulls 123-92 Wednesday night for a 138th straight regular-season game without consecutive defeats.

"KD kind of rounded into form and had a nice all-around night," coach Steve Kerr said.

Klay Thompson scored 28 points with six 3-pointers playing on his 27th birthday, Stephen Curry added 13 points and six rebounds and the Warriors had all five starters score in double figures for the fourth time.

Golden State hasn't lost consecutive regular-season games since April 5 and 7, 2015, at San Antonio and New Orleans, during its championship season.

This was the Warriors' eighth win following a loss this season and 18th in a row overall since those dates in `15.

"We don't like losing back-to-back games, 138 straight regular-season games doing that, that's really impressive, got to keep it going," Thompson said.

Robin Lopez had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the undermanned Bulls playing back in the Bay Area where he attended Stanford.

Draymond Green had 19 points with five 3-pointers, eight rebounds and six assists while fill-in starting center JaVale McGee had 13 points and six rebounds for Golden State, coming off a 109-106 overtime loss at Sacramento on Saturday in a game Kerr called one of his team's worst. The reigning NBA Coach of the Year was ejected late in the third quarter at Golden 1 Center and fined $25,000 for cursing at official Bill Spooner and failing to leave the court in a timely manner. Durant and Green got into a heated argument near the bench that night, too.

Durant went 2 for 10 with 10 points and missed all six of his 3-point tries against the Kings.

Golden State hit 15 of 28 3-pointers against Chicago, shot 55.8 percent overall and dished out 37 assists on 48 field goals.

The Bulls were short-handed. Dwyane Wade missed the game with an upper respiratory illness for a Chicago team that had averaged 119.5 points over its previous four outings and limited the Kings to 11 fourth-quarter points in Monday's 112-107 win at Sacramento.

The Bulls, who began 4 for 15 and fell behind 23-11, shot just 40.2 percent and 4 of 24 from long range.

"We committed a lot of turnovers early that got us playing behind and gave them a lot of confidence," Lopez said "That's a tough situation to be in in this building."


Cavaliers 132, Pacers 117

LeBron James wanted Kyle Korver on his team for one reason.

He knew the 35-year-old sharp-shooter could still play, and now Korver is proving how valuable he can be.

Korver scored a season-high 29 points and James gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a second-half energy boost to help the defending champs erase a 15-point deficit and blow out the Indiana Pacers 132-117 on Wednesday night.

"I've been waiting for a game like this, where you get hot and you get some good corner looks," Korver said. "I feel like I should have been shooting it better the last couple of weeks."

The timing worked just fine for the Cavs. Cleveland has won the first three games on a four-game road trip and six of its last seven overall.

Of course, James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love did their usual work.

Irving finished with 29 points and seven assists. James had 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Love had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Indiana led most of the first half and still had a 63-57 edge at halftime.

James cranked up his defensive intensity after the break and forced Indiana into a flurry of empty possessions. Korver's sharp-shooting then helped Cleveland lead 97-81 heading into the fourth quarter.

"At the start of the third quarter, you can't come out not focused and ready to go as we did," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "We kind of lost our composure and they took advantage."

Korver was 10 of 12 from the field, 8 of 9 on 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the second half -- living up to the scouting report James offered after the Cavs acquired Korver in a trade with Atlanta last month.

"Korver was in a league of his own," James said. "When he's open, we've got to get it to him."

For the Pacers, it was a familiar story.

They have struggled to defend Korver for years, and when he got free, Indiana's season-best seven-game winning streak ended.

C.J. Miles matched his season high with 23 points, Jeff Teague had 22 points and 14 assists and Paul George finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists.


Wednesday, February 9 Scoreboard

San Antonio 111, Philadelphia 103

Cleveland 132, Indiana 117

Washington 114, Brooklyn 110 (OT)

Atlanta 117,  Denver 106

Detroit 121, Los Angeles Lakers 102

Miami 106, Milwaukee 88

Memphis 110, Phoenix 91

Utah 127, New Orleans 94

Minnesota 112, Toronto 109

Los Angeles Clippers 119, New York 115

Golden State 123, Chicago 92

Sacramento 108, Boston 92


Thursday, February 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

Houston at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Cleveland at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Utah at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Boston at Portland, 9:30 p.m.


Friday,  February 10 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at New York, 6:30 p.m.

San Antonio at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Golden State at Memphis, 7 p.m.

New Orleans at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Indiana at Washington, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Chicago at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m.

 

Saturday, February 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Clippers at Charlotte, 4 p.m.

Milwaukee at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Denver at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Golden State at Oklahoma  City, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Houston, 8 p.m.

Orlando at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Boston at Utah, 9 p.m.


Sunday, February 12 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m.

San Antonio at New York, 2:30 p.m.

Detroit at Toronto, 5 p.m.

New Orleans at Sacramento, 8 p.m.