Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry put up 25 points and 11 assists on his birthday on Saturday to lead his team to a comfortable win over the New York Knicks.
After coach Steve Kerr rested several key players in the loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, he brought them all back into the frame against the Knicks and they delivered.
It was an eighth straight home victory for Golden State with Klay Thompson adding 27 points, while Andrea Bargnani (18 points) and Alexey Shved (14) were the best of the bunch for the visitors.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics secured an impressive road win at the Indiana Pacers, with Tyler Zeller putting up 18 points and seven rebounds.
Boston have now won four straight and six of seven to move within a half-game of the Charlotte Hornets for the No.8 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are showing the type of play required to succeed in the post-season.
Arguably, the fact that the Pacers were playing a back-to-back didn’t help them, but the most in-form team in the NBA may come to rue this loss down the stretch with George Hill’s 30 points and eight assists in vain.
The Washington Wizards also won on Saturday with John Wall scoring 31 points and dishing out 12 assists in a stellar performance to get his team back on track.
DeMarcus Cousins had 30 points for the Sacramento Kings, but it wasn’t enough to even keep the score competitive let alone genuinely challenge Washington for the win.
Meanwhile, there were wins for the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies over the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks respectively, with Derrick Favors (26 points) and Marc Gasol (12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists) producing the stand-out performances.
NBA Results
Boston Celtics 93-89 Indiana Pacers
Sacramento Kings 97-113 Washington Wizards
Brooklyn Nets 94-87 Philadelphia 76ers
Milwaukee Bucks 83-96 Memphis Grizzlies
Detroit Pistons 85-88 Utah Jazz
New York Knicks 94-125 Golden State Warriors
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