Klay Thompson returns to help Warriors beat Cavaliers, 96-82
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 17 points in his return from two devastating injuries that sidelined him more than 2 1/2 years, helping the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-82 on Sunday night.
Thompson was 7 of 18 from the field and 3 of 8 from 3-point range. He added three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 20 minutes, walking off the court to a thunderous ovation followed by chants of “Klay! Klay!” from the Chase Center crowd.
Stephen Curry had 29 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jordan Poole added 14 points for Golden State. The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak to tie Phoenix for the NBA lead at 30-9.
Lamar Stevens had 17 points and four rebounds for Cleveland.
Thompson missed 941 days and hadn’t played since tearing the ACL in his left knee in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto. While rehabbing from surgery for that injury, he tore his right Achilles tendon scrimmaging on his own in November 2020.
The five-time All-Star finally made his much-anticipated return, and reached two career milestones — 12,000 points and 1,800 3-pointers.
GRIZZLIES 127, LAKERS 119
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Memphis set a franchise record with its ninth straight victory, getting 16 points and a breathtaking block from Ja Morant against Los Angeles.
Morant’s block came in the first quarter, when he soared from behind Avery Bradley as he tried for a layup, caught the ball with both hands and smacked it off the glass about halfway up the backboard. Morant also threw down an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Bane in the third quarter, nearly hitting his head on the rim a night after sitting out against the Clippers with left thigh soreness.
Desmond Bane had 23 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 21 and Memphis won for the 12th time in 13 road games.
LeBron James scored 23 of his 35 points in the first half for Los Angeles. He made 14 of 19 shots and added seven assists.
MAVERICKS 113, BULLS 99
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for his third triple-double of the season and Dallas beat Chicago, running its season-best winning streak to six and ending the Bulls’ at nine.
Doncic, back in the lineup after missing the previous game with a right ankle sprain, had his first triple-double since Nov. 29. The Mavericks’ streak is their longest since also winning six straight in March-April 2016.
Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis missed his fifth straight game and coach Jason Kidd his second straight while in the NBA’s health and safety protocol. The Mavericks were led by assistant coach Sean Sweeney. Josh Green and Maxi Kleber had season highs with 18 points each for Dallas.
DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine scored 20 points each for Chicago.
NETS 121, SPURS 119, OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie Cam Thomas made a runner in the lane with 1.4 seconds left in overtime and Brooklyn beat San Antonio to snap a five-game home losing streak.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points for the Nets and James Harden had 26 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. But both struggled after the Nets had a 10-point lead with four minutes to play in regulation, forcing the extra period.
The Spurs made Durant give up the ball on the Nets’ final possession and he got it to Thomas, who gave Brooklyn its first home victory since Dec. 16.
Lonnie Walker IV scored 25 points for the Spurs, and Dejounte Murray had with 19 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
But the Spurs couldn’t get up a good shot on the last possession of regulation or overtime in another frustrating loss.
TIMBERWOLVES 141, ROCKETS 123
HOUSTON (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored a season-high 40 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 points and 10 assists and Minnesota beat Houston for its fourth straight victory.
Towns scored 22 points in the first half as Minnesota built a 75-54 lead. He finished 15 of 25 from the floor and added nine rebounds and seven assists. Jarred Vanderbilt had career-highs of 21 points and 19 rebounds.
Christian Wood had 22 points and eight rebounds for Houston.
CLIPPERS 106, HAWKS 93
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amir Coffey tied a career high with 21 points, Serge Ibaka added 16 and Los Angeles beat Atlanta.
Coffey, undrafted out of Minnesota in 2019, is on a two-way contract with the Clippers and the G-League, He made 8 of 12 field goals and 5 of 8 3-pointer.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Trae Young each had 19 points for Atlanta.
RAPTORS 105, PELICANS 101
TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 32 points and Toronto beat New Orleans for its season-high sixth straight victory.
VanVleet, who recorded his first career triple-double in Friday night against Utah, has scored 30 or more points six times in his past eight games.
Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 17 rebounds for New Orleans.
NUGGETS 99, THUNDER 95
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 18 rebounds to help Denver beat Oklahoma.
Austin Rivers scored a season-high 22 points and Jeff Green added 16 points. The Nuggets avenged a 108-94 loss to the Thunder on Dec. 22 in Oklahoma City.
Lu Dort scored 14 points for the Thunder. They have lost four straight.
WIZARDS 102, MAGIC 100
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Kuzma had 27 points and a career-best 22 rebounds, Bradley Beal scored 20 points and Washington rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.
Washington snapped a two-game skid and beat Orlando for a second time this season.
Terrence Ross scored 32 points for NBA-worst Orlando.
TRAIL BLAZERS 103 KINGS 88
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 31 points and Portland beat Sacramento.
Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to help the Trail Blazers snap a two-game losing streak.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 points for the Kings.