LOS ANGELES – Stephen Curry was pleased to clinch a “big win” for the Golden State Warriors on March 16, when he returned from a sprained ankle to score 31 points to help his team beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 on the road.
Klay Thompson added 26 in their National Basketball Association (NBA) showdown as the Lakers, who lost Anthony Davis after the first quarter to a poke in the left eye, squandered a 40-point performance by LeBron James.
“A big win for us, I don’t know the last time we won in here against them. Big deal,” Curry said.
“I was excited just to be back. You understand the ramifications down the stretch. Every game, especially against teams jumbled right there in the play-in, matters.”
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player missed Golden State’s past three games and they are only 1-5 this season without him.
The 36-year-old guard and four-time NBA champion returned in spectacular fashion, adding six rebounds and five assists while hitting 12 of 24 shots from the floor, and three of 10 from three-point range.
“Steph is Steph. He’s just amazing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He got off to a slow start, but he never worries and we never worry. What he does is open the floor for everyone else.”
James, who hit 15 of 23 shots, added eight rebounds and nine assists and filled in after Davis suffered the injury late in the first quarter.
“They’re always going to talk about me and him,” Curry added of James. “But it was about our total group tonight. For us, it takes a whole team to win and we needed it – we needed it bad.”
Draymond Green contributed 12 rebounds and 13 assists and Jonathan Kuminga added 23 points for Golden State.
The game was halted for several minutes near the end by a malfunctioning shot clock.
“I’ve never seen that in my career. Usually they have a back-up clock or something,” Curry said.
“That’s the worst thing that could happen, especially this age. You build up all pre-game, you get going and when the engine shuts off it’s hard to get it going again.”
The Warriors (35-31) are just ahead of 10th-place Lakers (36-32) in the last two play-in positions in the Western Conference.
Elsewhere, Jalen Williams scored 23 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed a share of the Western Conference lead by winning 118-112 in Memphis.
The Thunder matched defending NBA champions Denver atop the West at 47-20.
Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points for Oklahoma City.
“We just had to make winning plays down the stretch,” rookie Holmgren said. “It wasn’t going our way the whole game but we came together enough to come away with the win.”
Minnesota Timberwolves moved within a game of the West co-leaders, as Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Mike Conley added 25 in a 119-100 away triumph over the Utah Jazz.
“Ant’s been special, honestly. He really has,” said Conley. “Just seeing him develop as the season has gone on, it’s been amazing. Like tonight, he made a bunch of plays that he wouldn’t make the first part of the year.”
In another game, Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet posted double-doubles, as hosts Houston extended their winning streak to five games with a 117-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green had game-highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds and VanVleet added 13 points and 16 assists to guide the Rockets (32-35) to their seventh victory in eight games.
The Cavs (42-25) are third in the Eastern Conference, behind the Boston Celtics (52-14) and the Milwaukee Bucks (43-24). AFP, REUTERS
