Stephen Curry let it fly from way out under pressure with a minute-plus left for another perfect swish on the way to a career-high 62 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat Portland 137-122 on Sunday night to split the two-game set with the Trail Blazers.
Curry had the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, finishing 18 for 31 and 8 of 16 on 3-pointers after beginning with a 21-point first quarter. He had his 10th career 30-point half to help the Warriors take a 66-54 at the break.
One small blemish in his brilliant night: Curry had his streak of free throws snapped at a franchise-record 80 in the first. The run dated to March 29, 2019, vs. Memphis. Against Portland, he made a career-high 18 on 19 attempts.
Damian Lillard scored 32 points for Portland, and CJ McCollum added 28. McCollum shot 2 for 8 from deep after his 25 3-pointers over the initial five games left him and Curry as the only players to ever do so.
After Portland’s 25-point win Friday night, the Warriors were embarrassed and determined to be more aggressive and defend better after the Blazers came out firing to finish 20 of 43 from deep – and they looked more energetic on the defensive end. Portland shot 14 of 43 on 3s Sunday.
Lakers 108, Grizzlies 94
LeBron James had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, Anthony Davis added 17 points and nine rebounds and Los Angeles opened a two-game set in Memphis with a victory.
James played within the offense for the first three quarters, then became more aggressive to start the fourth, scoring the Lakers first 10 points of the period. His 3-pointer with 2:34 left made it 101-90.
Montrezl Harrell added 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Lakers win their third straight.
Kyle Anderson led Memphis with 18 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Tyus Jones also had 14 points, and rookie Desmond Bane had 13.
The Lakers led 56-54 at the break after both teams held advantages of at least nine points in the first half. Los Angeles took a 77-75 lead into the fourth.
The teams will meet again Tuesday night.
Clippers 112, Suns 107
Paul George scored 39 points and Los Angeles held on to beat Phoenix after nearly blowing a 31-point lead in a matchup of two of the Western Conference’s top early-season teams.
At 5-2, the Clippers are tied with the Suns and Los Angeles Lakers for the West lead.
George was 7 of 10 from the 3-point range and Los Angeles was 17 of 29 overall. Kawhi Leonard added 15 points but shot 4 of 21 from the field, and Luke Kennard came off the bench to add 14 points.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 25 points, and Deandre Ayton added 24. Chris Paul, who played six seasons for the Clippers, had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. They had won four in a row and 13 of 14 dating to their perfect run in the NBA bubble.
Celtics 122, Pistons 120
Jayson Tatum hit a fallaway as Blake Griffin stumbled with 2.9 seconds left, then tied up the Detroit veteran on the other end to help Boston beat the Pistons for a weekend split.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 31 points. He hit a late 3-pointer and was 13 of 16 from the field, two nights after his late miss sealed a loss in the opener in Detroit. Tatum had 24 points and 12 assists.
Jerami Grant scored 22 points for the Pistons, his career-best fifth straight game with at least 20.
On Friday night, Detroit beat Boston 96-93 for its only victory of the season.