OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 41 points with nine 3-pointers to become the first player in NBA history to make eight or more 3s in three straight games, and the Golden State Warriors held off the New Orleans Pelicans 147-140 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight win.
Pelicans star Anthony Davis went down hard beneath the Warriors basket with 2:22 left but was able to walk off after a few minutes and quickly returned. Davis had 30 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in nearly 41 minutes for New Orleans, coming off a 46-point and 16-rebound gem Monday night despite starting 0 for 5 with just four points in the first quarter. Nikola Mirotic scored 29 points, Jrue Holiday added 25 points and seven assists while Elfrid Payton dished out 12 assists.
The Pelicans and Warriors combined for an NBA-record 43 3s, breaking the mark by two that Sacramento and Golden State accomplished Jan. 5 at Golden 1 Center.
Curry has 28 3-pointers in his past three games while the Warriors made 18 or more from deep in a franchise-record fourth straight game.
He scored 23 of his points in the third quarter, hitting four 3s over the final 2:37, as the two-time defending champions rallied, taking a 110-109 lead into the fourth after Andre Iguodala’s driving finger roll and ensuing free throw.
NETS 145, ROCKETS 142
In Houston, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Brooklyn Nets spoiled James Harden’s 58-point night with a 145-142 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Harden had his second straight season high after scoring 57 in a victory over Memphis on Monday night, but was only 5 of 19 from 3-point range. The Rockets shot an NBA-record 70 3s, making just 23.
Harden has scored at least 30 points in 18 straight games and has reached 40 in nine of the last 12. He was 16 of 34 overall from the field, made 21 of 23 free throws and had 10 rebounds and six assists.
CELTICS 117, RAPTORS 108
In Boston, Kyrie Irving hit a foul-line fadeaway to give Boston the lead, then made a 31-foot 3-pointer to finish with 27 points and lead the Celtics past Toronto.
Returning after missing the last game with a bruised right leg, Irving had 10 points and six of his career-high 18 assist in the fourth quarter — including passes to set up Boston’s last three baskets in a game-ending 17-4 run. Al Horford scored 24 points to help Boston rebound from three straight road losses.
