Durant leaves game with ankle sprain after 30 points in first half…
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry produced an impressive night’s work as he led his team to a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Curry had 34 points and nine assists as the Warriors rallied from an early 17-point deficit to overcome Kevin Durant and the Thunder.
Durant scored a season-high 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the first half, but his night was ended prematurely after stepping on Marreese Speights’ foot and spraining his ankle.
The league MVP was diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain but he is understood to be set to recover in time to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
However, Curry was able to end OKC’s seven-game winning streak while Klay Thompson added 19 points as the Warriors won despite missing both Andrew Bogut and David Lee.
Steve Kerr’s side improve to 22-3 for the season despite Russell Westbrook’s attempt to fill the gap for his teammate with 33 points, but Golden State were too strong in the paint while their backcourt did equal the amount of damage.
There was a shock of sort in the West on Thursday night with the New Orleans Pelicans securing a road win over the Houston Rockets with Anthony Davis unsurprisingly leading the way for the visitors with 30 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
James Harden endured an off-night shooting wise for 21 points while Dwight Howard added 17 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts to stop Davis.
There was drama in Sacramento as despite the return of DeMarcus Cousins from viral meningitis, the Kings were unable to avoid a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks who were hot from beyond the arc.
Cousins went for 27 points and 11 rebounds in his return but it was a shared effort across the Bucks roster that took the win as they improve to 14-13 for the season.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls were able to hold off the New York Knicks and move to 16-9 behind a career-high 35 points from Jimmy Butler.
With Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony sidelined due to illness and a knee injury respectively, Butler took over the game and went 11-of-21 from the floor with four 3-pointers, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
“All I can say is thank God for Jimmy Butler,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You can’t say enough about him.”
However, it wasn’t easy for the Bulls to shake off the short-handed Knicks, and they will need to improve ahead of facing the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
NBA Results
New York Knicks 97-103 Chicago Bulls
New Orleans Pelicans 99-90 Houston Rockets
Milwaukee Bucks 108-107 Sacramento Kings
Oklahoma City Thunder 109-114 Golden State Warriors
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