By ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 24 points and moved within two 3-pointers of becoming the first player in NBA history with 4,000, Jimmy Butler had a triple-double, and the surging Golden State Warriors won their fifth straight game by beating the Portland Trail Blazers, 130-120, on Monday night, March 10.
Curry, who became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points during Saturday’s win against Detroit, needed seven 3s to reach the milestone. He made his first two early then another three in the third.
Butler contributed 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the Warriors’ first triple-double this season. Golden State improved to 12-2 since Butler made his debut Feb. 8 and 12-1 in games he played.
Gary Payton II scored a career-high 26 points in the Warriors’ 10th win in their last 11 games.
Deni Avdija returned from a two-game absence with a leg injury to record season-bests of 34 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in the Blazers’ fourth straight defeat. He’s the first Blazer since Clyde Drexler on March 20, 1990, with that stat line.
Anfernee Simons added 32 points as Portland completed a back-to-back following a 119-112 home loss to the Pistons on Sunday.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma City, Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Thunder, 140-127.
Jamal Murray scored 34 points for the Nuggets, who lost 127-103 in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s leading scorer and a top contender for league MVP with Jokic, finished with 25 points for the Thunder. He scored 40 the day before.
Lu Dort had a season-high 26 points and made eight 3-pointers and Isaiah Hartenstein scored 20 points for Oklahoma City. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for the Thunder, who have the best record in the Western Conference and are vying with Cleveland for the top record in the league.
The season series ends tied at 2-all, with the teams splitting the games at each venue.
The Thunder led 73-67 at halftime behind 16 points from Hartenstein and 15 from Gilgeous-Alexander. But Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams left the game in the second quarter with a right hip strain and did not return. He had 12 points and six assists in 14 minutes.
In San Antonio, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points, and the depleted Dallas Mavericks stopped a five-game slide by edging the Spurs, 133-129.
Klay Thompson had 26 points for Dallas in its first win since Feb. 27. Naji Marshall scored 24 points, and Kessler Edwards finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
San Antonio dropped its third consecutive game. Harrison Barnes scored 29 points for the Spurs, and Keldon Johnson had 28. Devin Vassell finished with 24 points.
In New York, Noah Clowney scored 19 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat Los Angeles, 111-108, in the Lakers’ first game since losing LeBron James to a strained left groin.
Luka Doncic had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for LA, but he shot only 8 for 26. Austin Reaves was 3 for 14 as the guards struggled with James and other key frontcourt players sidelined.
Cam Johnson and Keon Johnson each added 18 points for the Nets, who snapped a seven-game losing streak. Tyrese Martin finished with 14 points.
In Memphis, Ja Morant had 29 points and 12 assists, and the Grizzlies rallied from an early 16-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns, 120-118.
Cam Spencer, a rookie on a two-way contract, added a career-high 16 points for Memphis, including a pair of free throws with 14.4 seconds left that sealed the Grizzlies’ third straight win.
In Chicago, Josh Giddey had a season-high 29 points along with 10 rebounds before leaving midway through the fourth quarter with a right ankle injury, and the Bulls won their third straight game, 121-103, over the Indiana Pacers.
Coby White also scored 29 points for the Bulls, who hold the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
