NBA Round Up: Durant helps Warriors past Lebron’s Cavs to continue NBA best claims
Reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors marched into Cleveland on Monday to hand the Cavaliers a 118-108 loss.
Kevin Durant continued his scintillating form against the Cavaliers, established during last season’s NBA Finals, by scoring a game-high 32 points with eight assists and five rebounds as the Warriors extended their winning streak on the road to 14 games.
The Warriors finished with 33 assists and now have 147 30-assist games since Steve Kerr became head coach in 2014-15. Golden State’s assist total during that span is three times as many as the next-closest team — the Atlanta Hawks, who have 49 such games.
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists, playing in just his second game since suffering a second ankle injury in as many months.
LeBron James led the Cavs with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but Cleveland continued to struggle offensively as a whole.
James is now just 41 points away from 30,000 career points, but needs another Cavs star to find his form in a hurry.
Isaiah Thomas, still settling in with his new team, scored 19 points on eight-of-21 shooting.
With the loss, Cleveland (26-17) have now lost eight of their last 10, including four straight. The Warriors (36-9) continue to lead the Western Conference.
ANTETOKOUNMPO HELPS END BUCKS SKID
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points with a career-high 20 rebounds and six assists in a 104-95 win over the Washington Wizards.
Dwight Howard was nine of 12 from the floor to score 21 points with 17 rebounds in a 118-107 road victory for the Charlotte Hornets against the Detroit Pistons. Howard posted his sixth game of the season with 20-plus points and 15-plus rebounds. Only DeMarcus Cousins (11) and Anthony Davis (eight) have more.
PARKER AND GREEN STRUGGLE IN LEONARD’S ABSENCE
Playing without Kawhi Leonard, the San Antonio Spurs travelled to Atlanta and were handed a rough 102-99 loss by the now 12-31 Hawks. The Spurs’ guard duo of Tony Parker and Danny Green only mustered a combined 16 points, leaving too much offensive burden on LaMarcus Aldridge.
EMBIID FLEXES HIS MUSCLES
Joel Embiid established his dominance against the Toronto Raptors. Embiid’s 34 points and 11 rebounds led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 117-111 win over the Raptors.
Joel Embiid scores 34 PTS and grabs 11 REB to lead the @Sixers to the win at home!#HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/2NnTv3Eejw
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2018
MONDAY’S RESULTS
Charlotte Hornets 118-107 Detroit Pistons
Philadelphia 76ers 117-111 Toronto Raptors
Atlanta Hawks 102-99 San Antonio Spurs
Milwaukee Bucks 104-95 Washington Wizards
Chicago Bulls 119-111 Miami Heat
New York Knicks 119-104 Brooklyn Nets
Memphis Grizzlies 123-114 Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder 95-88 Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors 118-108 Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers 109-94 Utah Jazz
Los Angeles Clippers 113-102 Houston Rockets
PELICANS AT CELTICS
Led by the trio of DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, the New Orleans Pelicans may finally live up to their playoff potential. They face a tough road match against the surging Boston Celtics, who have won seven straight games. Boston use a balanced scoring attack and stifling defense to limit opponents, but they are thin in the front court, which could be a problem against the Pelicans.
