NBA

Stephen Curry and the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors sent a message after crushing the championship-chasing Brooklyn Nets 117-99 on Tuesday.

Boasting Kevin Durant and James Harden, the Nets are dreaming big in their pursuit of a maiden title, but the star-studded franchise were reminded how far they must go after Curry torched Brooklyn with 37 points on the road.

Curry tallied his fifth career game with 35-plus points in less than 30 minutes – the most by any player since the three-point era (1980).

The two-time MVP reached 2,900 career three-pointers after making nine shots from beyond the arc at Barclays Center.

 

It marked Curry's 37th career game with nine three-pointers or more – no other player is in the 10-36 range as the high-flying Warriors improved to 12-2.

In his reunion with former team the Warriors, where he won two titles, Durant put up a season-low 19 points.

It was the first time this season Durant did not score at least 20 points in a game, shooting six-of-19 from the field as Harden led the Nets (10-5) with 24 points.

 

George dazzles in LA

Paul George maintained his red-hot form in the absence of injured star team-mate Kawhi Leonard, scoring 34 points and collecting nine rebounds to go with four assists and two steals as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 106-92. San Antonio's Dejounte Murray (26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists) narrowly missed out on a triple-double.

 

Philadelphia's slide continues

The Philadelphia 76ers were left to pick up the pieces following a fifth consecutive defeat, a 120-85 rout at the Utah Jazz (9-5). Missing MVP runner-up Joel Embiid and fellow All-Star Ben Simmons, the 76ers were simply no match for the Jazz in Utah as last season's Eastern Conference top seeds slipped to 8-7. Philadelphia have lost five straight games for the first time since December 2017.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said there has never been any basketball player like Stephen Curry after his stellar performance in the rout of the Brooklyn Nets.

Curry reached 2,900 career three-pointers after making nine shots from beyond the arc in a 37-point display in Tuesday's 117-99 demolition of the championship-chasing Nets.

The haul marked Curry's 37th career game with nine three-pointers or more, but also helped the NBA-leading Warriors improve to 12-2 against the star-studded Nets, considered among the title favourites.

Two-time MVP Curry, who also had seven rebounds and five assists, tallied his fifth career game with 35-plus points in less than 30 minutes – the most by any player since the three-point era (1980).

When asked what makes Golden State's offence so great, Kerr responded: "Steph Curry… I'm not kidding. There's never been anyone like him. He's an offense by himself.

"He's going to pull defenders with him 35 feet from the hoop and it's a matter of putting smart people around him, like Draymond [Green] and Andre [Iguodala].

"The fact that Steph can be dominant on and off the ball is what makes him unique. There's nobody in the league now or, as far as I'm concerned, ever who had that combination of on-ball skill and pick-and-roll dominance, with the off-ball game of Reggie Miller or Rip Hamilton. That combination has never been seen."

The Warriors' exceptional start to the new season has fuelled hype about their own championship credentials, having won NBA titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018 before missing the playoffs in the past two campaigns.

Curry played down their title hopes but said Golden Stave have "championship DNA" and revealed he is motivated by their past two seasons of disappointment.

"It's always motivation coming off the last two years that we've had," Curry told ESPN after the game. "My injury two years ago, Klay [Thompson] being out for two years, us scrapping and clawing trying to get a playoffs spot last year.

"Coming in healthy this year, we wanted to set our own narrative and our own agenda. That's just playing Warrior basketball. We have so many talented guys, we can go through 11-12 with Klay and Wise [James Wiseman] who haven’t even been available yet.

"It's going to be a great year for us to keep building, have that chip on our shoulder. We have championship DNA but it's been two years since we've been able to prove it. We've got to take every opportunity to get there."

Thompson has resumed five-on-five practice in further good news for the Warriors, as he seeks to return after Achilles and ACL injuries, which meant he has not played in the NBA since June 2019.

Khris Middleton is poised to return when NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks face the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday after missing eight games following a positive COVID-19 test.

Middleton has not played for the Bucks since the October 31 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs due to coronavirus.

The Bucks have a 3-5 record in Middleton's absence, but the two-time All-Star has returned to practice and expects to play midweek.

"I've been working out the last couple of days here while guys were on the road," Middleton – a champion with Milwaukee last season – told reporters after Tuesday's practice.

"In practice, I felt good. But everybody knows game shape is a totally different ballgame. I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow."

Milwaukee have opened their championship defence 6-8 and will hope Middleton's return can help lift them ahead of five straight home games.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said: "I think it's underrated what he does for us defensively, underrated what he does for us on the boards, his communication, his leadership.

"Everybody's going to talk about the scoring and the shooting and all those things. I don't want to undervalue or underestimate those, but I think he really is a complete player and he's a great leader."

Middleton averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists across the Bucks' title-winning 2020-21 season.

He has started the new season averaging 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

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