HOUSTON (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 25 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 112-92 on Friday night in a rematch of the Western Conference finals.
Curry listened to the crowd frequently rain down “MVP! MVP!” chants on Rockets guard James Harden. But Curry outscored him 25-16 and got the win again, just as he did in the real MVP vote and in the Warriors’ five-game victory that sent them to the NBA Finals.
The reigning champions improved to 2-0 and the Rockets fell to 0-2.
Harden struggled with his shot for a second straight game. The MVP runner-up finished 4 of 18, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range, but added seven rebounds and five assists.
Dwight Howard had nine points and seven rebounds for Houston in his first game after serving a one-game suspension for getting a fourth flagrant foul in the postseason.
KINGS 132, LAKERS 114
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Rajon Rondo had 21 points and eight assists and DeMarcus Cousins added 21 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento.
With Rondo running the offense and benefiting from Los Angeles turnovers, the Kings had a 24-point lead at halftime and continued to pad the lead in the third quarter.
Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant had 13 points in 22 minutes.
THUNDER 139, MAGIC 136, 2OT
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Russell Westbrook banked in a 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt at the end of regulation on his way to 48 points, Kevin Durant scored 43 points, and Oklahoma City outlasted Orlando.
CAVALIERS 102, HEAT 92
CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James scored 29 points, Kevin Love added 24 points and 14 rebounds and Cleveland beat Miami in the Cavaliers’ home opener.
PISTONS 98, BULLS 94, OT
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Marcus Morris scored 26 points, Andre Drummond had 20 points and 20 rebounds and Detroit beat Chicago to improve to 3-0.
TIMBERWOLVES 95, NUGGETS 78
DENVER (AP) – Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota beat Denver.
SPURS 102, NETS 75
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Kawhi Leonard had 16 points, Tim Duncan added 15 and San Antonio regrouped after a sluggish start to beat Brooklyn.
HAWKS 97, HORNETS 94
ATLANTA (AP) – Dennis Schroder made Atlanta’s two-point guard lineup look good by scoring 14 points and the Hawks held off Charlotte.
WIZARDS 118, BUCKS 113
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Bradley Beal scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and Washington overcame a 13-point deficit to beat Milwaukee.
RAPTORS 113, CELTICS 103
BOSTON (AP) – DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and Terrence Ross had 13 of his 21 in the fourth quarter to help Toronto beat Boston.
JAZZ 99, 76ERS 71
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Derrick Favors had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah past Philadelphia.
SUNS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 92
PHOENIX (AP) – Eric Bledsoe scored 22 points, backcourt mate Brandon Knight added 18 and Phoenix pulled away in the second half to roll past Portland.
