Luka Doncic underwent an X-ray on his left hand after taking a blow to it during the Dallas Mavericks' 107-88 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Doncic's hand hit James Harden's knee during the early stages of the first quarter, and the 24-year-old immediately clutched it in pain.

He went on to score 22 points in the first half before being examined at half-time, though the X-ray reportedly came back as negative and Doncic finished the game with 30 points as the Mavericks ultimately succumbed to defeat.

After the game, Doncic told reporters: "I don't think it's broken. We will see further tomorrow in Dallas."

"I hit his knee, but yeah, I saw the picture [of the play]. It's not good to see."

Doncic was wearing a wrap on his left hand and thumb following the loss, and the Mavericks will nervously wait to see if the four-time All-Star will be able to play in Dallas' home game against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

LeBron James says he "will never forget" his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers after his 22 points helped the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat his former team on Saturday.

James has not always enjoyed an easy relationship with Cavaliers fans, acrimoniously leaving in 2010 after Cleveland drafted him back in 2003, controversially leaving for the Miami Heat.

Having won two NBA championship with the Heat, James returned to Cleveland in 2014 and won over the Cavaliers fans by helping them to a first ever title before departing again in 2018.

James went on to win a fourth NBA Championship with the Lakers, and he scored 22 points as his team went into Cleveland and took a 121-115 victory on Saturday.

The four-time MVP received a warm reception from the home crowd, and after the game he reflected on his "special" time with the Cavaliers, who play close to James' hometown of Akron, Ohio.

"It's just special," James said. "It's very special to be a kid from Akron.

"I grew up 30 miles south of here and to be able to be drafted here and spend my first seven years here and do some special things that the franchise had never seen.

"When I was drafted, I said I wanted to light this place up like Vegas. So I feel like I did a decent job of doing that when I was here for my 11 years.

"Stepping back on this floor is always a pretty cool feeling, looking up there and pretty much being a part of all of the banners in this arena. The one that sits in the middle was that [20]16 championship, so that's pretty cool.

"[I] spent 11 years here and being able to come back after my Miami stint and win a championship here for this franchise, for this city, I think it was a 52-year [title] drought or something like that in the city of Cleveland for any sports team, I think that was just something that I will never forget no matter how old I get. I'll always remember that moment."

Joel Embiid had 35 points and fell one assist shy of a triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s six-game winning streak with a 127-123 victory on Saturday.

Embiid had 11 rebounds and nine assists while making 19 of 21 free throws, including six in the final 9.8 seconds to seal the win.

Tyrese Maxey had 28 points and eight rebounds and Tobias Harris added 16 points to help the 76ers avoid a third straight loss.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for the Thunder, who lost their fourth straight at home to Philadelphia.

Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey had 10 points, seven boards and eight assists in his first game after the NBA started an investigation into accusations he had an improper relationship with an underage girl.

 

LeBron helps Lakers win in Cleveland

Anthony Davis scored 23 of his season-high 32 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds and LeBron James had 22 points against his hometown team as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 121-115.

James added six rebounds, six assists and two steals in his 18th career win against Cleveland in 21 games. The 39-year-old superstar attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron and spent 11 seasons with the Cavaliers, leading them to the 2016 NBA title.

Austin Reaves added 15 points and 10 assists as the Lakers won their fourth in five games overall and third straight on the road.

Donovan Mitchell had 22 points on 4-of-18 shooting in his return aft4er missing four games with a right hamstring strain for Cleveland.

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland did not play in the second half due to a neck strain, caused by an awkward collision with Max Christie in the first quarter.

 

George leads Clippers past Mavericks

The Los Angeles Clippers received little production from two of their stars, but Paul George had 25 points and Terance Mann added 17 in a 107-88 rout of the Dallas Mavericks.

James Harden was limited to eight points on 2-of-8 shooting and Kawhi Leonard missed his first nine shots before also finishing with eight points.

Russell Westbrook helped with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Clippers won their fourth in five games.

Luka Dončić scored 30 points and Kyrie Irving added 26 for Dallas, which failed to score 100 points for the first time this season.

Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel described Devin Booker as a "professional scorer" as he stepped up in Kevin Durant's absence on Friday, starring in a 110-89 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The In-Season Tournament game was the first Durant has missed all season, with Phoenix's leading scorer complaining of soreness in his right foot before the game.

However, the Suns made light of his absence as Booker stepped up with a season-high 40 points, while Eric Gordon added 20 as Phoenix extended its winning streak to six games.

Asked about Booker's efforts in the aftermath of the win, which took Phoenix to 3-1 in the tournament, Vogel said: "The guy's just a professional scorer. He is a big reason we are having this six-game win streak."

With Phoenix waiting to see how Durant's condition develops, Booker says it will be difficult for the team to replace his contribution.

"It's tough", Booker said. "You can't replace what he brings to the court. His scoring ability, his versatility on defense. It's going to take a lot of extra from everybody else."

With the Los Angeles Lakers winning Group A of the In-Season tournament with a 4-0 record, the Suns must wait on other results across the Western Conference to see whether they have done enough for a wild-card spot.

Phoenix was made to endure something of a Memphis resurgence in the second half as the hosts cut their lead to single digits, but guard Jordan Goodwin scored eight straight Suns points in the fourth quarter to kill any hopes of a comeback.

"He was great," Vogel said of Goodwin, who finished with 14 points and added five rebounds in 20 minutes on the court.

"You know, he's had some ups and downs this year. We've been challenging him as a coaching staff to be better on both sides of the ball.

"He competes defensively but staying within the framework of what we're asking him to do… to see it all come together for him was a great night for all of us, as coaches, trying to challenge a player and see him respond, and for him, to respond and have a great night."

Guard Immanuel Quickley couldn't contain his relief after the New York Knicks fought back for a remarkable 100-98 win over the Miami Heat on Friday to keep their In-Season Tournament hopes alive.

The Knicks began the home game against their long-time rivals – who ended their 2022-23 season in the second round of the playoffs in May – knowing a loss would have eliminated them from the competition. 

They looked to be on their way out when the Heat established a 21-point lead with three minutes and 40 seconds to go in the third quarter, but the Knicks finished with a brilliant game-closing 38-15 run to snatch victory.

A three-pointer from Quickley heralded the start of New York's fightback, with the 24-year-old finishing with 20 points and four rebounds as the Knicks earned a measure of revenge over Miami.

Asked what was going through his head when New York found themselves staring at defeat, Quickley said: "It's a decision whether to mentally check out or not. 

"It's a decision to keep fighting. It's a decision to tell yourself, 'you got to keep fighting,' no matter what. I did look at the score and say, 'dang,' when I saw how much we were down, I literally said that. 

"But then I got right back to it, seeing where I was at mentally and said, 'let's go. Let's try to get a comeback going'."

The Knicks' good work was almost for nothing as Heat star Jimmy Butler had one last chance to win it, but his three-pointer rimmed out as the fourth quarter drew to a close.

"I've seen that shot go in, not just from him," Quickley said of Butler's last-gasp effort. "When you play basketball for so long, you see so many game-winners. They all look the same.

"I just said, 'please, please don't go in'' We worked so hard to get back… Thank God he missed it."

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra saw the end of the third quarter, when Quickley scored six points to cut the deficit, as the turning point, saying: "At the end of the third quarter we're up 20-plus. 

"Then we had some turnovers, a bad shot, we didn't get back on defense and then all of a sudden it turned into a Quickley three and another Quickley three, and then all sudden it gets to 13. 

"That was the biggest shift right there. We had an opportunity to take that thing to 25. There's a karma to it. We were so careless finishing that quarter."

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich stands by his decision to criticise the team's fans over their booing of former franchise favourite Kawhi Leonard, describing their behaviour as "hateful".

Popovich made headlines on Wednesday when he walked over to the scorer's table and grabbed a microphone during the second quarter of the Spurs' 109-102 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers.

With San Antonio's fans loudly jeering their former star Leonard as he lined up a pair of free throws, his former coach Popovich leapt to his defence. 

"Excuse me for a second," Popovich said to the crowd. "Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? Have a little class. That's not who we are. Knock off the booing."

Popovich later said the boos had risked giving Leonard – who won the NBA Championship with the Spurs in 2014 before departing four years later – additional motivation.

Asked if he regretted the remarks ahead of Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors, Popovich said: "Absolutely not. It's pretty easy to understand.

"I listened to it for a while and it just got louder and louder and uglier and uglier, and I felt sorry for him, and I was embarrassed for our city, for our organization.

"That's not who we are, that's not how we've conducted ourselves for the last 25 years. It's the opposite of the way we've conducted ourselves, the way we've worked in the community.

"It's kind of an indication of the world we live in today. It was hateful. It was really disrespectful, it was just mean-spirited. 

"We're the team that when somebody comes back to town after having been a Spur, we show a video of them. I can remember when Kawhi and Danny Green came back from Toronto, we showed videos of those guys and the crowd didn't react like that." 

The Spurs failed to end their dismal run of form on Friday, seeing their losing streak extend to 11 games as Stephen Curry's 35 points helped the Warriors to a 118-112 win in the In-Season Tournament game at Chase Center.

Curry also matched his season-high tally of seven three-pointers and added six assists, while guard Gary Payton II won plaudits for a terrific leaping block on Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Number one draft pick Wembanyama had 22 points and eight rebounds but only made one of six three-point attempts as San Antonio's miserable run continued. 

They continue to prop up the Western Conference at 3-13 and are 0-4 in the group stage of the In-Season Tournament ahead of Sunday's difficult road game against the Denver Nuggets. 

Moritz Wagner delivered 27 points off the bench to lead the surging Orlando Magic to a 113-96 victory over the Boston Celtics in an NBA In-Season Tournament game on Friday.

Paolo Banchero added 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists to help the Magic extend their winning streak to six games and improve to 11-5. Orlando has missed the playoffs in three straight seasons and last had a winning campaign in 2018-19.

The win also moved Orlando to the top of the Tournament's Group C standings at 3-1, a half-game ahead of the Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. 

The Magic trailed 30-19 after one quarter but outscored Boston by a 29-18 margin in the third to take a 77-74 lead into the fourth quarter. Wagner then scored the final eight points of a 10-0 run to begin the fourth as Orlando extended its advantage to double digits.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points to lead Boston, which shot a season-low 24.1 percent from 3-point range and lost for the second time in three games. Jaylen Brown finished with 18 points but went 6 of 22 from the field. 

 

Booker has 40 to lead streaking Suns

Devin Booker poured in a season-high 40 points and the Phoenix Suns won their sixth straight game, 110-89 over the lowly Memphis Grizzlies in an In-Season Tournament game.

Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen scored 14 points apiece for the Suns, who stayed hot despite playing without leading scorer Kevin Durant, a late scratch due to right foot soreness.

Phoenix improved to 3-1 in the tournament but is still a game behind the Lakers, who won Group A with a 4-0 record. The Suns must now wait on how other teams in the West fare to see who qualifies for the wild-card spot.

Santi Aldama led the Grizzlies with 21 points and Derrik Rose added 17. Memphis lost its third straight overall and dropped to 0-7 at home this season.

 

Knicks erase huge deficit to beat Heat

Jalen Brunson scored 24 points and the New York Knicks mounted a furious rally in a 100-98 victory over the Miami Heat to stay alive in the In-Season Tournament.

Immanuel Quickley had 20 points off the bench and RJ Barrett added 18, including a key three-point play down the stretch.

Jimmy Butler had 23 points for Miami but missed a potential winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

New York tied Miami at 2-1 in the Eastern Conference’s Group B, with Milwaukee in first place at 3-0.

The Knicks, who trailed 83-62 with 3:40 left in the third quarter, scored 12 straight points in the fourth to take a 97-96 lead with 1:59 remaining. Brunson’s jumper made it 99-96 with 84 seconds to play.

 

NBA referees are too "emotional", according to former player Gilbert Arenas.

A controversial incident on Wednesday led to Golden State Warriors' Chris Paul being ejected from his team's game with the Phoenix Suns, thrown out by referee Scott Foster, with whom Paul has endured a long feud.

Paul and Foster have clashed numerous times over the years, and the latest disagreement saw the referee slap the 12-time NBA All-Star with two quick technical fouls, leading to the 38-year-old's seventh career ejection.

Arenas, who racked up 11,402 points in an NBA career spanning 11 years, believes referees must do more to control their own emotions amid the chaos.

"Someone should ask Adam Silver [NBA commissioner] this," Arenas said on his Gil's Arena podcast. "If I'm a player, I'm playing a game that's emotional, I'm acting in real time, real deep human emotions.

"And when I don't control my emotions, a ref can give me a technical, which means whatever I said to him, irritated him so bad that he didn't control his emotions and he gave me a tech. So, my emotions led to him being emotional, but he gets to give me a technical and that's fine.

"How? He's supposed to be the most cool and collected m*********** out there. There's no nothing for him. He doesn't leave it with a win or loss. Whatever he does, whatever he makes, he gets it no matter f****** what. What's a ref's record? zero and f****** zero his whole career. There's no win or loss, [yet] that's the most f****** emotional dude in the game."

Gregg Popovich said San Antonio Spurs fans should not "poke the bear" after his team lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Spurs coach Popovich walked over to the scorer's table late in the second quarter when Clippers star and former Spurs player Kawhi Leonard was being jeered by the San Antonio faithful as he prepared for a free throw.

"Excuse me for a second," Popovich said to the crowd. "Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? Have a little class. That's not who we are. Knock off the booing."

Leonard went on to finish with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists as the Clippers triumphed 109-102, their third straight NBA win.

Asked why he took hold of the mic to speak to the crowd during his side's 10th consecutive loss, Popovich simply told reporters: "I think anybody that knows anything about sports, you don't poke the bear."

Leonard, for his part, shrugged off the jeers.

"If I don't have a Spurs jersey on, they're probably going to boo me the rest of my career," Leonard, who won the first of his two NBA titles in San Antonio, said.

"But I mean it is what it is. Like I said, they're one of the best fans in the league and they're very competitive.

"Once I step out on this basketball court out here, they show that they're going for the other side.

"When I'm on the streets or going into restaurants, they show love. So it is what it is."

James Harden finished with 16 points to move 24th on the all-time NBA list, while Paul George had 24 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers (6-7).

Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 22 points and 15 rebounds, but his team fell to 3-12, the worst record in the Western Conference.

Jaylen Brown had 26 points and eight assists as the Boston Celtics cooled off Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks with a 119-116 victory on Wednesday in a clash between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.

Jayson Tatum added 23 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 as Boston bounced back from Monday's overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets that snapped its six-game winning streak.

The Celtics also ended Milwaukee's run of five straight wins while preventing Antetokounmpo from reaching the 40-point mark for a third consecutive game.

Boston held Antetokounmpo to 21 points on 7-of-20 shooting two nights after the two-time NBA MVP went 20-of-23 from the field in a 42-point performance Monday against the Washington Wizards.

The Celtics never trailed in improving to 6-0 at home this season, as they opened the game with a 10-0 run and built a 29-17 lead after one quarter before extending the margin to 67-53 at halftime.

Milwaukee got a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit down to four in the final minute, but the Celtics hit 5 of 6 free throws late to seal the win.

Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting, while Damian Lillard finished with 27 points and five assists. 

 

Streaking Magic survive Jokic’s triple-double

The Orlando Magic won their fifth straight game, as Franz Wagner scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half in a 124-119 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

 Paolo Banchero had 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:49 left to put Orlando ahead for good.

Goga Bitadze, Jalen Suggs and Wagner clinched the win with six straight free throws in the final 14 seconds.

Jokic had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season and 111th of his career, the fourth-most in NBA history.

 

Gilgeous-Alexander leads red-hot Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and 12 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their sixth consecutive win, 116-102 over the Chicago Bulls.

Chet Holmgren tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and Isaiah Joe added 20 points for the Thunder, who are on their longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points for the Bulls after making just one basket in the first half.

Chicago played without leading scorer Zach LaVine, who sat with a sore right foot.

Kelly Oubre Jr will soon be back in contention for the Philadelphia 76ers, Nick Nurse has said.

Oubre was struck by a car earlier in November, suffering a fractured rib.

However, he returned to practice earlier this week, and before the Sixers' loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Nurse said there is a chance Oubre might return as early as next week.

"Yeah, there might be a chance," Nurse said.

"I think we're still at a stage where we're not sure how he's going to handle the contact part of it.

"He was in good spirits on Monday. He was pretty energetic.

"I think that's going to determine it. Like if he handles that, kind of first time out OK, I think we're close to that week timeline. If he doesn't, then we're going to be pushing some more days on that. Hopefully days, and not weeks on that."

Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey chipped in with 30 for the Sixers in the loss to Cleveland, with Philadelphia having lost three of their last five games.

"We raised our level of play in the second half and gave ourselves a chance," said Nurse. "It just didn't work out."

Darvin Ham celebrated a "great step in the right direction" for the Los Angeles Lakers as they secured their place in the quarterfinals of the NBA's in-season tournament.

Anthony Davis had a double-double of 26 points and 16 rebounds, while LeBron James contributed 17 points to tick over 39,000 for his career, in Tuesday's 131-99 win over the Utah Jazz.

That victory moved the Lakers to 4-0 for the in-season tournament, as they sealed their progression from the group having defeated the Jazz, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers are now guaranteed a home quarterfinal on either December 4 or 5.

"A great, great step in the right direction in us not only securing anything for the in-season tournament but just us coming together and constantly trying to get better at being together and playing the right way," said coach Ham.

There is plenty on the line in the latter stages of the tournament. Each player who makes it to the semi-final stage is guaranteed $100,000. The players on the team that finishes runner-up will get $200,000 each, while the winning team will be entitled to $500,000 per player.

"It's not a run-of-the-mill regular-season game," Ham added.

"They're well aware. That purse is pretty attractive. Guys like money. Not like it, they love it. That incentive right there, it's huge."

For Davis, a home tie is the biggest bonus first and foremost.

"Being home and able to sleep in our beds, not having to travel, that's always good when you play well at home," he said.

"Kind of a rocky start on the road so this helps us out, having our fans behind us. But it feels good. One step closer to winning the cup."

The Indiana Pacers also booked their place in the last eight, with Tyrese Haliburton scoring 37 points and providing 16 assists in a 157-152 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

"It is exciting," Haliburton said of advancing to the quarterfinals. "We are the first team to clinch, and we are ready to go.

"We have a few more games before the quarterfinals, so we want to take care of what is in front of us first, but we want to win the championship, of course. It would be awesome."

The Indiana Pacers got 37 points and nine 3-pointers from Tyrese Haliburton and set a franchise scoring record in a 157-152 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the In-Season Tournament.

Buddy Hield hit consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch, including one with 53 seconds left to put the Pacers up 155-152.

Haliburton handed out 16 assists, Hield finished with 24 points and Obi Toppin added 21 off the bench for Indiana, which trailed by 20 in the third quarter.

The Pacers are 3-0 in East Group A with one game left in group play, while the Hawks dropped to 1-2.

Trae Young had 38 points and eight assists for Atlanta, while Dejounte Murray added 28 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 26 on 10-of-15 shooting.

The Hawks held an 86-73 lead at the break and set a franchise record for points in the first half.

 

Allen sparks Cavaliers past 76ers in overtime

Jarrett Allen scored six of his 26 points in overtime and Darius Garland had 32 points to lead the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-119 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday in the In-Season Tournament.

Cleveland played without Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro due to injury but had six players score in double figures to remain alive for the wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 for the 76ers, who were eliminated from tournament contention with their third straight home defeat.

Allen’s hook shot with 18 seconds left in overtime gave the Cavs the lead for good before Embiid and Maxey missed layups at the other end.

 

Durant moves up scoring list in Suns’ win

Kevin Durant had 31 points to pass Elvin Hayes for 11th on the all-time scoring list and the Phoenix Suns handled the reeling Portland Trail Blazers 120-107 on Tuesday in an In-Season Tournament game.

Durant, playing in his 1,000th NBA game, passed Hayes in the first quarter by shooting 6 for 6.

Devin Booker added 28 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 18 and 12 rebounds to help Phoenix wins its fourth straight.

Deandre Ayton was booed heavily by the Phoenix crowd in his first game against the Suns after he was traded to Portland in a three-team deal that saw Damian Lillard go to Milwaukee.

Ayton finished with 18 points and eight rebounds as the Blazers lost their eighth in a row.

Michael Malone quipped that Nikola Jokic was purely out to defend him after the Denver Nuggets pair were ejected from Monday's game against the Detroit Pistons.

Two-time NBA MVP Jokic and Nuggets head coach Malone were both ejected in the first quarter of Denver's 107-103 win over the struggling Pistons, who have now lost 12 straight games.

Jokic was called for a technical foul for arguing with the officials, before he was tossed for arguing another call in the final two minutes of the quarter.

Malone, meanwhile, was ejected because he went onto the court to dispute a decision.

"I think Nikola was worried about my welfare," Malone joked.

"It is tough to watch a game on TV – we were hugging on good plays and I was cursing in Serbian on the bad ones."

Denver are second in the Western Conference with a 10-4 record for the season.

Miles Bridges' 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in overtime capped a stunning rally by the Charlotte Hornets, who snapped the Boston Celtics' six-game winning streak with a 121-118 victory on Monday.

The Hornets trailed by 11 points with six minutes remaining in regulation and overcame a 45-point night from Boston star Jayson Tatum to end a run of six consecutive home losses. LaMelo Ball led the comeback with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while former Celtic Gordon Hayward scored six of his 20 points in overtime.

Bridges added 14 points and 15 rebounds in his third game back from a suspension for a domestic violence arrest that caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of this one.

The Celtics appeared on the way towards another victory before Charlotte scored the final nine points of the fourth quarter. Ball hit a key 3-pointer during the late run and forced overtime with a driving layup with 7.2 seconds remaining.

Tatum's 3-pointer with 57.6 seconds left in regulation put Boston back up by a 116-114 score, but Ball fed Hayward for a dunk on the ensuing possession and after the Celtics' Jaylen Brown missed a 3-pointer, Bridges buried a 25-foot jumper with time winding down to give Charlotte a 119-116 lead.

Payton Pritchard went 5 of 8 from 3-point range and recorded 21 points off the bench for Boston, while Tatum added 13 rebounds and six assists.

Curry extends 3-point record as Warriors halt six-game skid

Stephen Curry made five more 3-pointers and collected 32 points to get the Golden State Warriors back on track with a 121-116 win over the Houston Rockets.

Curry, the NBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made, finished 5 of 9 from beyond the arc to become the first in league history with 13 consecutive games with four or more triples to begin a season. 

Klay Thompson broke out of a shooting slump with 20 points to help the Warriors end a six-game losing streak. Chris Paul added 15 points and 12 assists, while Dario Saric contributed 18 points off the bench. 

Thompson, who ended 5 of 11 from 3-point range, had 12 first-half points as Golden State built a 63-53 lead at intermission. Curry scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to allow the Warriors to stay in front the rest of the way.

The Rockets lost for the third straight time following a six-game winning streak despite Alperen Sengun's 30 points and 13 rebounds. Fred VanVleet dished out 14 assists for Houston but went just 3 of 13 from the field while being held to 10 points.

Pelicans snap Kings' winning streak with 36-point blowout

Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and Zion Williamson had 26 as the New Orleans Pelicans cooled off the Sacramento Kings with a 129-93 rout.

The Pelicans shot 54 per cent from the field and led by as many as 41 points in ending Sacramento's six-game winning streak. Ingram made all five of his 3-point attempts and shot 11 of 18 overall, while Williamson converted 12 of his 16 field goal tries and added five assists and three steals.

Williamson racked up 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting during a dominant first half as the Pelicans took a 66-53 lead into the break. New Orleans then broke the game open by outscoring the Kings by a 34-16 margin in the third quarter, with Ingram delivering 18 points for the period.

Sacramento shot just 24.4 per cent from 3-point range, including a 2-of-12 performance from leading scorer De'Aaron Fox. 

Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 16 points. Fox ended with a season-low 14 after coming into the contest averaging 31.9 per game. 

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