Stephen Curry delivered another dazzling display of three-point shooting as the Golden State Warriors overpowered the Orlando Magic 111-105 in the NBA. (More Sports News)
Stephen Curry landed 10 three-pointers on Thursday, while Joel Embiid went big but his team came up short in Portland
Stephen Curry delivered another dazzling display of three-point shooting as the Golden State Warriors overpowered the Orlando Magic 111-105 in the NBA. (More Sports News)
Curry went into the contest on a career-best streak of 12 consecutive games scoring at least four three-pointers, and the two-time MVP wasted no time extending that run to 13 inside the first quarter at Chase Center on Thursday.
James Harden is the only other player in NBA history to nail four threes in 13 straight games, after putting up 40 points, draining 10 of 19 from beyond the arc.
Curry has posted at least 25 points while shooting at least 50.0 per cent from the field in each of his last eight games. According to Stats Perform, it is the longest streak by any guard since Michael Jordan did so in 11 successive games in 1995-96.
Warriors team-mate Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points in support, while Magic star Nikola Vucevic hit a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double in reply.
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid became the fourth player in Philadelphia 76ers history to score 25 points in 10 straight games but that was not enough as the Portland Trail Blazers claimed a 118-114 win.
Embiid finished with 35 points and nine rebounds, but a clutch fourth quarter from veteran Carmelo Anthony, who scored 17 of his 24 points in the final period, led Portland to triumph over the Eastern Conference leaders.
Butler fires in the third to dial up the Heat
Jimmy Butler’s triple-double inspired the Miami Heat to a fourth consecutive win and condemned the Houston Rockets to a fourth successive defeat following a 101-94 ballgame. Butler put up 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Semi Ojeleye was six-for-eight from three-point range as the Boston Celtics topped the Toronto Raptors 120-106. Boston team-mates Payton Pritchard (six-for-eight) and Kemba Walker (five-for-eight) also impressed from beyond the arc. Per Stats Perform, they are the first trio of team-mates in NBA history to each make 60.0-plus per cent of their threes on eight-plus attempts in the same game.
Grant hits the skids as Pacers end losing streak
Coming off big scoring games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons star forward Jerami Grant could not keep up the pace against the Indiana Pacers.
Grant shot four of 17 from the field, scoring only nine points, as the Eastern Conference strugglers allowed Indiana to snap their four-game losing streak, 111-95.
Melo produces magic
Trailing by four points, Anthony rolled back the years to fuel the Trail Blazers' turnaround against the high-flying 76ers. After going four-from-four, Anthony made it 15 points in the quarter with this desperation jump shot with the shot clock close to zero. He added two more free throws to complete the comeback win.
Thursday's results
Boston Celtics 120-106 Toronto Raptors
Miami Heat 101-94 Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers 111-95 Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors 111-105 Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers 118-114 Philadelphia 76ers
Bucks at Jazz
Two of the NBA's form franchises go head-to-head on Friday, with the Western Conference-leading Utah Jazz (20-5) hosting the on-fire Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks (16-9).