With the defense keying on Kyrie Irving, Royce O’Neale hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds left, and the Nets capitalized on Golden State’s third straight game squandering a double-digit lead, beating the Warriors 120-116 on Sunday night.
Following the game, O’Neale walked gingerly onto the podium with an ice bag around each knee and reiterated the soaring confidence level among the Brooklyn Nets even with star Kevin Durant on the sidelines nursing a knee injury. Taking down Stephen Curry and the defending NBA champions on their home floor sure doesn’t hurt.
‘Kyrie had been getting to the basket, hitting tough shots and at that moment, he drove, two people double-teamed and he found me open,’ O’Neale said. ‘I just needed to have the confidence to knock it down.’
Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets goes to the basket against the Golden State Warriors
Golden State went ahead 106-93 on Klay Thompson’s jumper with 6:57 to play then the Nets outscored the Warriors 27-10 the rest of the way.
Curry’s two free throws with 1:12 remaining gave Golden State the lead moments after Irving’s three-point play put Brooklyn ahead, then Irving missed on the other end facing defensive pressure from Thompson. Irving missed another try but Golden State got two more chances and both Curry and Kevon Looney missed with less than a minute left.
On the winning play, Irving drove, was smothered and dished the ball off.
‘They did a great job of staying on my body, keeping the game physical, making it tough,’ Irving said. ‘I felt like my teammates had a lot of great looks, drawing the defense, drawing two, three to lose their man. Royce being wide open, I felt like that was the best shot for our team so I gave up the ball, trusted him to make it and luckily it went in.’
Irving finished with 38 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for a Nets team that won a second straight playing without Durant, who missed facing his former team after winning titles and NBA Finals MVP honors in 2017 and ´18 with Golden State.
Nic Claxton #33 of the Brooklyn Nets dunks the ball in the first quarter against the Warriors
Nic Claxton contributed career highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds with three blocks as the Nets won two in a row following a four-game losing streak that followed Durant getting hurt.
‘It´s a lot of confidence going around, everybody´s taking the challenge, stepping up, finding out ways to win games,’ O’Neale said.
Irving shot 12 for 22 with five 3-pointers coming off a spectacular 48-point performance in a 117-106 road win at Utah on Friday night in Brooklyn’s first win since Durant sprained his right knee.
Curry had 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Little brother Seth Curry´s layup with 2:29 left pulled Brooklyn within 112-109 then Joe Harris tied it on a 3 the next time down.
Jordan Poole added 17 points for the Warriors, who used a 39-point second quarter to take charge but couldn’t hold it.
Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) looks to pass away from defensive pressure by the Warriors
‘You give a team like that some life, they’re really good,’ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Irving’s 3-pointer at the 6:55 mark of the third tied the game and the Warriors led 90-86 heading into the final 12 minutes.
O’Neale scored 11 of his 16 points with three 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Donte DiVincenzo made all four of his 3-point tries in the first half and the Warriors led 70-53 late in the second before a 7-0 Nets run got Brooklyn within 72-60 at the break. DiVincenzo wound up with 13 points and eight assists and Jonathan Kuminga added 20 points in 25 minutes.
Poole stayed in the starting lineup in Looney’s place after scoring 30 or more points in two of the previous three games.
Looney had 14 points and 10 boards and Draymond Green nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists after Brooklyn whipped the Warriors 143-113 at home on Dec. 21 but without Curry and Thompson.
Thompson added 10 points as six Warriors scored in double figures.
Irving dribbles the ball in the first quarter against Stephen Curry as he nearly falls to the floor
THUNDER 101, NUGGETS 99
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a decisive 8-foot jumper with 9.2 seconds remaining and finished with 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped Denver´s league-leading nine-game win streak and beat the Nuggets 101-99 Sunday night.
After Denver´s Zeke Nnaji hit two free throws to tie the game at 99 with 30 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander got the ball out of a timeout and hit the mid-range jumper to give the Thunder the lead. The Nuggets´ Jamal Murray missed a 14-foot shot in the final seconds.
Oklahoma City´s victory ended the Nuggets´ 16-game home win streak – the franchise´s longest run in 10 years.
Josh Giddey had 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, who earned their seventh win in nine games.
Denver was without center Nikola Jokic, who missed his second straight game while dealing with tightness in his left hamstring, and forward Michael Porter Jr., out due to personal reasons. Jamal Murray shouldered much of the offensive load, finishing with a team-high 26 points and nine assists.
Oklahoma City Thunder players celebrate the win against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday
SUNS 112, GRIZZLIES 110
Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists in his return after missing seven games with a hip injury, leading Phoenix over Memphis.
The Suns had to hold on in the final minutes after dominating most of the night.
Desmond Bane´s free throws cut the margin to 110-106 with 58.8 seconds left. After a Phoenix turnover, Ja Morant was fouled and made two more free throws to cut it to 110-108 with 28.6 seconds remaining. Phoenix forward Dario Saric hit two free throws after being fouled on the ensuing possession and the Grizzlies finally ran out of time.
The Suns have won three straight, pushing back to .500 for the season. The Grizzlies have dropped two in a row after their 11-game winning streak was snapped by the Lakers on Friday.
Mikal Bridges led the Suns with 24 points, while Torrey Craig added a season high 20. Morant scored 27 for the Grizzlies, while Desmond Bane added 24.
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) runs away from Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12)
LAKERS 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 112
LeBron James had 37 points and 11 rebounds, and Los Angeles rallied in the second half to beat Portland.
Thomas Bryant added 31 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won three of their last four after a three-game losing streak.
Anfernee Simons had 31 points for the Blazers, who have lost three straight. Damian Lillard added 24 points and 10 assists.
James was questionable going into the game with a sore ankle but played. James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar´s NBA scoring record of 38,387 points. James is 233 points away from matching the record after Sunday´s game.
LeBron James #6 of the Lakers dunks the ball during the game against the Trail Blazers
HEAT 100, PELICANS 96
Tyler Herro scored 26 points, Kyle Lowry had nine straight for Miami in the final moments and the Heat rallied to beat New Orleans.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler each scored 18 for Miami, which trailed by 16 in the first half. Lowry scored 17 for the Heat, the last nine of those coming in a span of 1:42 down the stretch.
Trey Murphy III had 17 for New Orleans, which got 14 points and 16 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas. CJ McCollum scored 13 and Larry Nance Jr. added 12 for for the Pelicans.
New Orleans´ 25th turnover came on a five-second violation with 15.1 seconds left, with the Heat up by two. The Heat needed two time-outs before they could get the ball inbounds, and wound up losing a jump ball anyway with 12.2 seconds remaining.
McCollum got a good look at a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but it rimmed out and Miami’s Victor Oladipo put the game away with two free throws.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) drives to the basket against Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr.
CLIPPERS 112, MAVERICKS 98
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 30 points, Paul George had 21 and Norman Powell added 19 off the bench to lead Los Angeles past Dallas.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and Spencer Dinwiddie had 21.
The Clippers won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 26-27, while the Mavericks have lost four of their last five games and seven of 10.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard drives against Mavericks guard Luka Doncic
RAPTORS 125, KNICKS 116
Fred VanVleet scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 before fouling out and Toronto beat New York to end a three-game losing streak.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points, Scottie Barnes had 19 and Precious Achiuwa added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who scored 26 points off 17 New York turnovers.
RJ Barrett scored 30 points and Julius Randle had 23 points and 19 rebounds as the Knicks lost their fourth straight. Jalen Brunson scored 21 points and Obi Toppin had 14.
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Fred VanVleet #23 of the Raptors drives to the basket during the game against the Knicks
