Stephen Curry scored 35 points for the Golden State Warriors as the struggling San Antonio Spurs succumbed to an 11th consecutive defeat in San Fransico on Friday.
The 35-year-old contributed seven 3-pointers to the 118-112 victory which gave the Warriors hopes of advancing to the elimination stages of the NBA In-Season Tournament with one game to play.
Looking to end a streak of 10 straight defeats, rookie star Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs side wrapped up their disappointing NBA Cup schedule – and with the game also counting towards the regular season, left their Western Conference chances looking bleak.
Wembanyama, who was at the centre of a social media storm after the misspelt name on his jersey went viral, had 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks but couldn’t get the Spurs back to winning ways against the Curry-inspired Warriors.
Things got interesting late on when the San Antonio side, who were 110-95 down with just 2:49 to go, made a late push and rallied 110-106 before forcing a turnover with 55.1 seconds on the clock.
However, Keldon Johnson’s missed 3-pointer allowed Curry and Klay Thompson to wrap the game up from the free-throw line.
“We’ve still got a lot to learn,” Curry said after the Warriors’ second win in nine games. “But it’s nice to still be in it and have a chance. We need any win we can get right now, baby!”
Dario Saric also helped with 20 points off the bench as the Warriors improved their NBA Cup record to 2-1, matching the Minnesota Timberwolves in West Group C as both teams battle for a top-two finish.
The result leaves the Warriors in 10th place in the Western Conference regular season standings as the Spurs remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
The Spurs couldn’t complete a comeback, but over at Madison Square Garden the New York Knicks put on a show to pull off the largest fightback of the season.
From 21 points down in the third quarter, RJ Barrett’s converted go-ahead and three-point play with 1:59 on the clock spurred the Knicks on to a 100-98 victory in the closing seconds to avoid NBA Cup elimination.
Barrett and Jalen Brunson starred late on for the New York side who outscored the Heat 29-11 in the final quarter to post a crucial victory ahead of their East Group B finale against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the LA Clippers pushed hard for a comeback of their own but fell short 116-106 against the New Orleans Pelicans to end their chances of Cup glory, and the Chicago Bulls were dealt a third successive defeat in a 121-108 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
The Sacramento Kings overcame Western Conference leaders the Timberwolves 124-111 to move ahead of them in West Group C, while the Milwaukee Bucks stayed top of East Group B with a game to play after a 131-128 victory against the Washington Wizards.
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