SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Kevin Durant scored 13 of his 33 points in the second quarter and matched his season-high with six 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 119-104 on Friday night.
Three nights after getting blown out in Utah while suffering their worst loss of the season, the defending NBA champs looked a little sluggish early before pulling away to even the season series with Sacramento and give coach Steve Kerr his 248th career victory.
Golden State also improved to 11-0 in games following losses while spoiling Sacramento coach Dave Joeger’s return to the bench.
It wasn’t easy keeping that streak going.
Sacramento trailed by 14 before pulling to 89-88 with 7:55 remaining following three consecutive baskets by Buddy Hield.
Omri Casspi stopped the slide for the Warriors with a driving layup, Draymond Green added a three-point play and Nick Young made a 3-pointer. Durant then scored the next 10 points for Golden State, including back-to-back 3s.
The Warriors committed 25 turnovers but the Kings rarely took advantage and finished with 19 points off the miscues.
Stephen Curry added 23 points and six assists, Klay Thompson scored 20 points and Green had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Golden State.
PELICANS 114, THUNDER 100
In Oklahoma City, Anthony Davis scored 43 points and became the Pelicans’ career scoring leader as New Orleans beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-100 on Friday night.
The 24-year-old Davis passed David West on the franchise list and has 8,702 points. He made 17 of 34 shots and had 10 rebounds.
E’Twaun Moore added 26 points for the Pelicans.
New Orleans had lost two straight since All-Star DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season with a left Achilles tendon rupture. They righted the ship by shooting 51 percent from the field against the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for his 16th triple-double of the season.
Steven Adams had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their third straight after an eight-game winning streak.
CELTICS 119, HAWEKS 110
In Boston, Terry Rozier’s second act as an NBA starter was just as impressive as his first.
Rozier had a career-high 31 points and seven rebounds in his second career start, Jayson Tatum added a career-high 27 points and the short-handed Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 119-110 on Friday night.
Rozier started in place of the injured Kyrie Irving. The third-year guard became the second player in league history with a triple-double in his first start, totaling 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Wednesday’s blowout of the Knicks.
