LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Golden State star Stephen Curry drained the winning layup with two-tenths of a second remaining on Friday, Nov. 3, as the Warriors opened the NBA’s new in-season tournament with a dramatic 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In a game featuring 23 lead changes, it was tied at 139-139 when Curry drove to the basket and rose to bank in a shot.
Pacers 121, Cavaliers 116
Bucks 110, Knicks 105
Heat 121, Wizards 114
Warriors 141, Thunder 139
Nets 109, Bulls 107
Blazers 115, Grizzlies 113
Nuggets 125, Mavericks 114
But teammate Draymond Green, whose hand was near the rim, was called for offensive goaltending ˗ only for the call to be overturned to allow the Warriors to celebrate the win.
Curry finished with a game-high 30 points, connecting on five of 10 three-pointers and nine of 15 overall.
Green scored 15 points with five rebounds and Chris Paul handed out 13 assists.
Lu Dort scored 29 points and Chet Holmgren added 24 for Oklahoma City, who was without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, sidelined by a knee injury.
Even without him, the Thunder weren’t about to go quietly.
The Warriors led by two at halftime, but Dort scored 11 points early in the third to put Oklahoma City up by five before the Warriors battled back, knotting the score at 106-106 heading into the fourth.
“They took it to us the whole game,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who admitted he feared the worst when officials reviewed the interference call on Green.
From courtside, Kerr said, Curry’s shot looked good.
It was among the most dramatic moments on the first night of the new Cup-style tournament that commissioner Adam Silver hopes will fire players’ competitive instincts and give added interest to games early in the season.
The 30 clubs were drawn into six groups of five, and each team will play a total of four tournament games this month to decide six group winners and two wildcard qualifiers for the quarter-finals.
All games in the new tournament count in the regular season standings except for the final on December 9 in Las Vegas.
Reigning NBA champions Denver took the opportunity to hand the Dallas Mavericks their first defeat of the season, 125-114.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 33 points on 14-of-16 shooting, adding 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Nuggets bounced back from their lone defeat so far this season.
Denver scored 20 second-chance points, dominating in the paint to deny a Mavs team led by 34 points from Luka Doncic. Kyrie Irving, back after missing two games, scored 22 for Dallas.
The first win of the new competition went to the Indiana Pacers, who were fueled by 27 points from Myles Turner in a 121-116 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tyrese Haliburton added 18 points and 13 assists for the Pacers, who led by as many as 18 but had to claw back after the Cavs, led by 38 points and nine assists from Donovan Mitchell, grabbed a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
It was close in Chicago, where Dorian Finney-Smith scored 21 points and Mikal Bridges added 20 for the Brooklyn Nets in a 109-107 victory over the Bulls
