DALLAS (AP) Stephen Curry had several dazzling plays on his way to 31 points, fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored 39 and the Golden State Warriors tuned up for a showdown in San Antonio with a 130-112 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Among a number of displays that drew roars from the typical swarm of the sharpshooting star's fans on the road, Curry stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki near midcourt before hitting a 35-footer over him at the first-quarter buzzer. Then he glanced a 3-pointer off the glass from the corner with Nowitzki in his face again in the second quarter.
The Warriors made 14 of their first 17 from long range, finished 22 of 38 and won their seventh straight. Now they try to tackle the NBA's longest losing streak on another team's court - 32 straight at the Spurs going back to Feb. 14, 1997.
Nowitzki had 24 points for the Mavericks (34-35), who dropped under .500 for the first time since Nov. 11.
CAVALIERS 109, MAGIC 103
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and LeBron James had 18, including a layup and pair of free throws down the stretch to help Cleveland hold off Orlando and clinch a playoff spot.
Channing Frye came off the bench to make four 3-pointers and score 14 against his old team as the Cavs beat the Magic for the 14th consecutive time. A rested James returned to the lineup after taking off Wednesday's home victory over Dallas and finished 6-of-15 shooting with eight assists and seven rebounds.
Victor Oladipo had a career-high 45 points for Orlando, but only scored six in the fourth quarter. The last of his six 3-pointers trimmed Cleveland's lead to 107-103 before James made two free throws to put it away.
THUNDER 111, 76ERS 97
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Russell Westbrook recorded his league-leading 13th triple-double with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and Kevin Durant had 26 points and 13 boards to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over Philadelphia.
Westbrook's 13 triple-doubles tie Grant Hill (1996-97) and Jason Kidd (2007-08) for most in a season over the last 25 years. Westbrook, appropriately, reached the triple-double by assisting Durant on a layup with 4:14 left in the game.
Enes Kanter contributed 16 points for theThunder, who clinched a playoff spot with their 14th straight victory over Philadelphia.
The NBA-worst 76ers lost their fourth straight and 17th in 18 games while falling to 9-60, keeping alive the possibility of matching the 1972-73 76ers for worst record in the 82-game season. That Philadelphia team went 9-73.
RAPTORS 105, CELTICS 91
TORONTO (AP) - Kyle Lowry scored 32 points, Luis Scola had all of his 17 in the first quarter and Toronto beat Boston.
Lowry was 9 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, and added five assists and four rebounds as Toronto led the entire way in its third straight victory.
Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston, who matched a season worst with its fourth straight loss. Even Turner added 12 points in the Celtics' fifth loss in six games.
The Raptors, playing their fourth game in five nights, built up a big lead early, let Boston back in the game and then pulled away with a 14-2 run over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Lowry had 10 points during that stretch, punctuating the spurt with back-to-back 3s.
PISTONS 115, KINGS 108
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Marcus Morris scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a couple big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lift Detroit over Sacramento.
The Pistons (35-34) pulled into a virtual tie with Chicago (34-33) for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is in the middle of a nine-game homestand, and the Pistons can take a small step toward their first postseason berth since 2009 simply by winning home games against struggling teams such as the Kings.
Morris made all six of his 3-point attempts in the first half, and Detroit led 67-54 after two quarters. Sacramento rallied to tie it early in the fourth, but the Pistons didn't let this game slip away.
DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, which has lost 11 of 13.
TRAIL BLAZERS 117, PELICANS 112
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Damian Lillard scored 33 points, getting up from a vicious Kendrick Perkins forearm to help Portland recover from a blown 20-point lead and finish off a feisty New Orleans squad.
The Pelicans nearly pulled off what would have been their largest comeback this season while Anthony Davis sat out the second half with a left knee injury, the severity of which was unclear.
Perkins' clothesline-style forearm put Lillard flat on his back, and resulted in some brief shoving, as well as Perkins' ejection.
The dust-up enlivened the crowd and Pelicans, who briefly held slim leads in the final minutes until C.J. McCollum, who had 30 points, hit a 3 that was set up by Lillard's pass to give Portland the lead for good with a minute left.
Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday each scored 30 for New Orleans.
ROCKETS 116, TIMBERWOLVES 111
HOUSTON (AP) - James Harden had 29 points and 14 assists as Houston bounced back from an ugly loss to beat Minnesota.
Harden's final assist came on a fast-break pass to Trevor Ariza for a dunk in transition with less than 15 seconds remaining to put away the game.
After allowing 72 points in the first half of a 122-106 blowout at the hands of the Clippers, the Rockets held Minnesota to 52 first-half points, including just 23 in the first quarter. Houston ranks among the league's worst in first-quarter points allowed.
Houston has won 10 of its last 11 games against Minnesota, including seven straight at home.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, and Shabazz Muhammad scored 12 off the bench.
SUNS 95, LAKERS 90
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Brandon Knight scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter after Phoenix nearly blew a 19-point lead, and the Suns hung on to beat the Lakers.
Knight, who recorded his first NBA triple-double with a career-high 15 assists against the Lakers in the Suns' 120 -101 win on Nov. 16, finished the game with four free throws, a 3-pointer and a 14-foot running jumper.
Rookie Devin Booker had 21 points and seven assists for the Suns in a matchup of teams with second- and third-worst records in the league. The Suns are 19-50, and Lakers 14-55.
Lou Williams scored 30 points off the bench for Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant didn't play again because of his chronically sore right (shooting) shoulder.
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