STEPHEN Curry returned from an ankle injury to score 31 points and reserve Klay Thompson added 26 points to lead Golden State past the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 in NBA play on Saturday.
The Lakers, who lost Anthony Davis after the first quarter with a sting to the left eye, squandered a 40-point performance by LeBron James in a loss to the Warriors.
“This is a big win for us,” Curry said. “I don’t know the last time we won here against them. Big deal.”
Curry, the 36-year-old guard and four-time NBA champion, returned in spectacular fashion, adding six rebounds and five assists while hitting 12 shots from the floor and 3 of 10 from 3-point range.
James, who hit 15 of 23 shots, added eight points and nine assists and replaced Davis after the first quarter and did not return.
“There’s always going to be talk about me and him,” Curry said of James.
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“It was about our group as a whole tonight. For us, it takes a complete team to win and we needed it — we needed it badly.”
Draymond Green had 12 rebounds and 13 assists and Jonathan Kuminga added 23 points for Golden State.
The game was stopped a few minutes near the end due to shot clock interference.
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“I’ve never seen that in my career. Usually they have a reserve clock or something,” Curry said.
“This is the worst thing that can happen, especially at this age. You build everything up before the game, you start running and when the engine stops, it’s difficult to start again.”
The Warriors are a percentage point ahead of the Lakers in the final two play-in positions in the Western Conference.
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Jalen Williams scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had six assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder shared the Western Conference lead with a 118-112 win at Memphis.
Rookie Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points for Oklahoma City.
“We just had to make winning choices at the end of the game,” Holmgren said. “It didn’t go well the whole game but we rallied enough to win the game.”
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Minnesota closed in on the western conference leaders as Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Mike Conley added 25 in the Timberwolves’ 119-100 win at Utah.
Jalen Brunson scored 42 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 98-91 victory in Sacramento.
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers against the Charlotte Hornets 109-98.
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Cameroon forward Pascal Siakam scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the host Indiana Pacers past the Brooklyn Nets 121-100.
CJ McCollum scored 30 points and dished out eight assists while Zion Williamson added 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-107.
Jalen Green scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets past the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-103, extending the Rockets’ winning streak to five games.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 34 points and Nikola Vucevic added 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Washington Wizards 127-98. (AFP/Z-3)
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