NBA roundup: Lee’s triple-double paces Warriors past Bobcats

Associated Press

Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — David Lee had another big game in what Golden State coach Mark Jackson believes is already an All-Star worthy season for the Warriors veteran forward.

Lee was impressed the way his teammates bounced back from a disappointing loss two nights earlier.

On a night when Stephen Curry set a career high with eight 3-pointers, Lee put together one of his best all-around performances of the season with 23 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists to help the Warriors extend the Charlotte Bobcats’ losing streak to 14 games with a 115-100 victory on Friday night.

It’s the 11th consecutive game in which Lee has had 20 points or more and his 11th with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, tops in the NBA.

“You can pencil in 20 and 10, and then sprinkle in some other stuff around the tree,” Jackson said of Lee. “He’s been that good all year long. Stef was again spectacular. Those are my leaders and they are doing a great job of setting the tone.”

Lee did that with his third career triple-double — second with the Warriors while Curry became the first player in franchise history to make seven or more 3s in consecutive games. Golden State’s guard finished with 27 points.

That combo was enough to offset a solid night from Charlotte’s tandem of Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker, who combined for 39 points.

It also got Jackson to talking about the All-Star game. Before and after the game, Golden State’s coach said both Lee and Curry deserved consideration, though Lee isn’t quite ready to get into that discussion just yet.

“The biggest argument for me on that is we just have to keep winning games,” said Lee, who went 11 of 16 from the floor. “That’s the way I’m going to get to Houston or Stef’s going to get to Houston, is we just keep winning. A lot of that becomes political and we can’t do a whole lot about that, but winning games makes our best case.”

Henderson had a season-high 23 points for the Bobcats while Walker had 16 points and six assists.

“I thought we just kind of went cold,” said Walker, who went 6 for 17 from the floor. “Those guys, they just made the right plays on offense and did a great job of moving the basketball and really getting us out of position.”

Klay Thompson added 20 points while Carl Landry and Draymond Green had 11 apiece for the Warriors, who have won eight of 10.

Golden State led by double digits the entire second half and never trailed following a 14-3 run late in the first quarter.

The Bobcats, who haven’t won since Nov. 4, had five players in double figures but lost to the Warriors for the second time in 11 days despite committing only seven turnovers.

The way Golden State was shooting it didn’t matter.

The Warriors (18-9) shot 51.9 percent from the floor and made a season-high 14 3-pointers after getting 13 in Wednesday’s loss to Sacramento.

Curry, who had seven 3s against the Kings, led the perimeter attack while Thompson went 4 for 8 from beyond the arc. That helped Golden State complete its first season sweep of Charlotte since 2004-05, the Bobcats’ first year in the league.

Charlotte, making its third stop on a four-game road trip, made one brief run after falling behind 39-25 early in the second quarter but didn’t do much else.

Walker, who went to the bench briefly in the first quarter after running hard into a screen attempt by Golden State center Andris Biedrins, scored five points as part of an 11-0 run then made his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to pull the Bobcats within 44-43.

That was as close as they could get.

“We played hard but when you get down to execution … there’s a two-point disparity and the next thing you know it’s eight,” Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said. “(Lee and Curry) have presence. They’re going to have presence all year long, and we’re not the only ones that are going to struggle defending them.”

Curry, coming off a 32-point night in the Warriors’ 131-127 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday, made a pair of 3s over the final 3:40 and had 15 points before halftime to help Golden State pull away.

76ers 99, Hawks 80

PHILADELPHIA — Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Evan Turner scored 21 points to help Philadelphia topped Atlanta.

Jason Richardson scored 17 to help the 76ers snap a five-game losing streak. Jrue Holiday had 11 points after missing four games with a sprained left foot. The 76ers held the Hawks to 39 percent shooting and outrebounded them 45-37.

The Sixers learned before the game that injured center Andrew Bynum had been cleared to start a six-step rehabilitation process. There is still no timetable for when he can return to play from bone bruises in his knees.

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 17 points and Lou Williams scored 13.

Bucks 99, Celtics 94, OT

BOSTON — Monta Ellis scored five of his 27 points in overtime, and Milwaukee beat Boston after blowing a seven-point lead late in regulation.

The Bucks won for the sixth time in eight games, taking three of four against the Celtics, who had a five-game home winning streak snapped despite 35 points by Paul Pierce.

Luc Mbah a Moute scored 20 points, and Larry Sanders had 17 and 20 rebounds for Milwaukee.

Jeff Green scored 14 points, Kevin Garnett had 12, and Courtney Lee added 11 for the Celtics.

Pierce, who scored a season-high 40 points in Boston’s previous game, sent the game to OT by hitting a 3 with 2.5 seconds left.

Pacers 99, Cavaliers 89

CLEVELAND — Roy Hibbert scored 18 points, and Lance Stephenson added a season-high 16 to lead Indiana over Cleveland, which lost its sixth straight game.

Hibbert didn’t have to deal with injured Cavs center Anderson Varejao, the NBA’s leading rebounder. Varejao missed his second game in a row with a bruised right knee.

David West added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Gerald Green had 14 points — with a ferocious dunk — as the Pacers won for the fifth time in six games.

Kyrie Irving scored 17 points on just 5-of-16 shooting for the Cavs, who are 1-11 in their last 12 games. Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, 3-21 in its past 24.

The Pacers enjoyed a size advantage inside and outrebounded the Cavaliers 44-35. Hibbert spent the last 5 minutes on the bench after picking up his fifth foul, but by then Indiana led by double digits and rolled to a relatively easy win.

Stephenson went 7 of 8 from the floor and added seven assists.

Pistons 100, Wizards 68

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Greg Monroe had 15 points and nine rebounds, rookie Andre Drummond added a double-double, and Detroit ended a six-game losing streak with a rout.

The Pistons, who never trailed, got 15 points from Brandon Knight and 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds from Drummond. Detroit hadn’t beaten anyone other than the Cavaliers since late November.

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Washington.

The Wizards dressed only nine players, with John Wall, Trevor Ariza, Bradley Beal and Nene among the unavailable players, and lost their sixth straight.

Jordan Crawford led Washington with 20 points.

Grizzlies 92, Mavericks 82

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and Zach Randolph had 17 points and 13 rebounds to help Memphis win its fourth straight, topping visiting Dallas.

Marc Gasol added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis. Tony Allen finished with 10 points, but his biggest contribution was on the defensive end, holding former Grizzly O.J. Mayo, the Mavericks’ leading scorer, to 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Mike Conley had 11 assists to become the Grizzlies’ franchise leader with 2,079. He surpassed Jason Williams — who had 2,069 — with 7:54 left in the first quarter on an alley-oop pass to Gay.

Shawn Marion and Vince Carter led the Mavericks with 14 points apiece, and Marion also had 11 rebounds. Dominique Jones had 13 points and seven assists, and Brandan Wright added 12 points.

Raptors 93, Magic 90

TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, Jose Calderon had 13 points and nine assists, and Toronto won its fifth straight game, beating Orlando.

Rookie Terrence Ross scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and Alan Anderson, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson each had 10 for the Raptors.

Aaron Afflalo scored 26 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the first time in five games. Gustavo Ayon had 12 points and 13 rebounds. E’Twaun Moore added 12 points.

Spurs 99, Hornets 94

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker had 25 points, Tim Duncan had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio beat New Orleans.

Back home after playing six of its previous seven games on the road, San Antonio (19-9) got 13 points from Manu Ginobili and 12 from Boris Diaw.

Rookie Anthony Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead New Orleans (5-21), which lost its 10th straight. Greivis Vasquez added 14 points, Ryan Anderson had 12, and added Brian Roberts 11.

New Orleans outscored San Antonio 33-27 in the final quarter, including a jumper by Roger Mason that pulled the Hornets within 84-80 midway through the quarter. The Spurs responded with a layup by Parker and a jumper by Nando De Colo to regain control.