Curry and Thompson in fine form after All-Star break…
The Golden State Warriors finally overcame the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night as they secured a comfortable win over their Western Conference rivals.
Stephen Curry had 25 points and 11 assists while Klay Thompson added 20 points, but it was the former who made another strong case for the MVP award with his performance as he ran the game perfectly.
With the hosts up by 21 points heading into the fourth quarter, Popovich rested his regulars for the final 12 minutes as he will have been extremely frustrated with the display.
In contrast, the league-leading Warriors (43-9) continue to set the pace in the West and it is difficult to see who can stop them from securing the top seed for the playoffs as they march on emphatically.
Over in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards behind 28 points from LeBron James as his team routed their rivals.
John Wall responded with 18 points and nine assists, but it wasn’t enough from the hosts to keep the game competitive as the Cavs now begin to push ahead of them in the standings.
The leaders in the East were also beaten as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks by 25 points with Lou Williams stepping off the bench to score 26.
It was a strange performance from the Hawks considering their form so far this year, and so coach Mike Budenholzer will hope that it was just a small bump in the road rather than a worrying start to final stretch of the regular season.
Elsewhere, George Karl won his first game in charge of the Sacramento Kings with DeMarcus Cousins putting in a dominant performance with 31 points and 15 assists, while the Detroit Pistons caused an upset by defeating the Chicago Bulls behind 20 points from Caron Butler.
NBA Results
New Orleans Pelicans 84-95 Orlando Magic
Indiana Pacers 106-95 Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors 105-80 Atlanta Hawks
Chicago Bulls 91-100 Detroit Pistons
Miami Heat 111-87 New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns 109-111 Minnesota Timberwolves
Cleveland Cavaliers 127-89 Washington Wizards
Houston Rockets 100-111 Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets 81-89 Milwaukee Bucks
Portland Trail Blazers 76-92 Utah Jazz
Boston Celtics 101-109 Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs 99-110 Golden State Warriors
Brooklyn Nets 114-105 Los Angeles Lakers
COMMENTS