While All-Star Game starters Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry split responsibility orchestrating the offense, the Golden State Warriors’ collective length dominated defensively in a 125-108 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston.
The Warriors (37-6) stretched their winning streak to six games by overwhelming the Rockets (33-13) on both ends of the court.
Durant finished with 32 points and seven assists while Curry chipped in 24 points and seven assists as Golden State surged ahead in the first quarter and never looked back in a rematch of a Dec. 1 showdown won by the Rockets in double overtime at Oracle Arena.
Rockets guard James Harden produced 17 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists but was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers. Houston shot just 7 for 35 from behind the arc with Eric Gordon, the league leader in treys, going 2 for 14 overall and 0 for 7 on 3s. As part of their defensive might, the Warriors recorded seven blocks and eight steals. They limited the Rockets to 44.8 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers.
The Warriors first flashed their offensive execution with a 10-0 run to the lead in the first quarter. Houston leaned on Harden and a pair of reserves, forward Sam Dekker (17 points) and center Clint Capela (22 points, 12 rebounds) to keep the deficit manageable, and when Golden State darted to a 14-point lead midway through the second quarter, Harden returned to action and keyed another rally.
The Rockets managed just six points in the second quarter prior to a Patrick Beverley 3-pointer with 6:06 left in the half. Harden and Dekker followed by combining for 17 points the remainder of the period before Curry beat the buzzer with a 3 that gave the Warriors a 62-57 halftime lead and reclaimed momentum.
Golden State siphoned the life out of the Rockets in the third quarter.
While Houston shot 0 for 10 on 3s, the Warriors opened the period with three layups, a Durant dunk, a wide-open trey from Draymond Green (15 points, eight boards, seven assists, three blocks), a fourth layup and another Durant dunk. When Curry added back-to-back 3-pointers, the Warriors led 87-67 and coasted in to victory.
Hawks 102, Bulls 93
Atlanta bounced back from a lopsided loss at Detroit two nights earlier by extending its dominance against Chicago.
The Hawks, who got off to a blistering shooting start, led by 29 points at halftime en route to extending their winning streak against the Bulls to six games. Dennis Schroder had 25 points and six assists as the Hawks won for the 10th time in their past 12 games.
Lakers 108, Pacers 96
Lou Williams scored a game-high 27 points and Los Angeles ended a five-game skid with a victory over Indiana at Staples Center.
Julius Randle scored 16 points and Brandon Ingram and Nick Young added 15 points apiece for the Lakers.
Jordan Clarkson chipped in 12 points for Los Angeles. Paul George had 21 points to lead the Pacers, who had won seven of their previous eight games. Al Jefferson scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Indiana, which lost for the first time at Staples in four games. Indiana center Myles Turner contributed 15 points.
Hornets 113, Raptors 78
Charlotte played like a team intent on putting a recent five-game losing streak behind it and gaining momentum while it is in the middle of a five-game homestand. The Hornets outscored the Raptors 58-30 in the second half, leading by as many as 37 points despite resting most of their starters throughout the fourth quarter. Kemba Walker led the way with 32 points.
Magic 112, Bucks 96
Elfrid Payton scored 20 points and added six assists in leading Orlando to a victory over Milwaukee at the Amway Center. The Magic snapped a three-game losing streak. The Bucks lost their fourth consecutive game.
The Magic had seven players finish in double figures when they dominated the second half and never were seriously challenged for the lead.
76ers 93, Trail Blazers 92
Robert Covington’s 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining lifted Philadelphia to a victory over Portland the 76ers’ sixth victory in seven games and eighth in 10. Covington, who finished with 22 points, took a pass from T.J. McConnell and connected from the left wing.
Portland’s Mason Plumlee then missed a layup in traffic at the buzzer as the Trail Blazers dropped their fourth straight game. Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 24 points for Philadelphia.
Nets 143, Pelicans 114
Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovich scored 23 points apiece as Brooklyn ended an 11-game losing streak by beating New Orleans in the Smoothie King Center. Five teammates came off the bench to score in double figures for the Nets, who won for the first time since a 120-118 victory against Charlotte on Dec. 26. Spencer Dinwiddie was the third Brooklyn starter to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Rookie Caris LeVert led the Nets’ reserves with 17 points, Luis Scola scored 14 in eight fourth-quarter minutes, Quincy Acy and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each had 12 and Randy Foye had 11. The Brooklyn bench outscored the New Orleans bench 73-47.
Grizzlies 107, Kings 91
Marc Gasol scored 28 points and Zach Randolph added 20 to lead Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over Sacramento Kings at FedExForum.
Gasol, a candidate to make the NBA All-Star team as a reserve, and Randolph, a sixth man of the year candidate, helped the Grizzlies to a lopsided edge on the boards.
Randolph had 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double and Gasol had nine. Tony Allen also chipped in with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) for the Grizzlies.
Jazz 112, Mavericks 107 (OT)
Rudy Gobert racked up career highs with 27 points and 25 rebounds, and Utah extended its winning streak to a season-high five by slipping by Dallas in overtime at American Airlines Center. The Northwest Division-leading Jazz (28-16) had won four in a row three previous times this season but had failed to get to five until beating Dallas for the third time in three tries.
Utah is also sneaking up the Western Conference standings, drawing within a game of the Los Angeles for fourth place.
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