Curry lifts Warriors past Magic
Stephen Curry shoots 19 of his 41 points late in the game to power Golden State to a 126-119 win over Orlando in the NBA regular season.
EZRA SHAW/agence france-presse
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Stephen Curry scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Golden State Warriors escape with a 126-119 victory over the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Golden State led by as many as 16, but with the help of 19 Warriors turnovers the Magic clawed back and a frantic fourth quarter saw Orlando’s Jamal Cain tie it with 1.5 seconds left in regulation.
Curry converted a three-point play with 1:38 left in the extra session that put Golden State up by two and added a layup with less than a minute remaining to help the Warriors hang on for a seventh straight win.
Curry, 38, posted his second 40-point game this season and passed LeBron James for most 40-point games after the age of 35 with his 16th.
Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson scored 31 points to propel the NBA champion New York Knicks to a convincing 109-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.
Brunson scored 18 points in the second quarter as the Knicks broke open a close game in Cleveland, where the Cavs were coming off an impressive win over LeBron James and the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player added six rebounds and nine assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points with 13 rebounds and two steals for the Knicks, who notched their fifth win in six games after starting the season 0-3.
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points to lead the Cavs, but Cleveland felt the absence of center Jarrett Allen and when Brunson took over in the second period they couldn’t respond.