The Cinderella story in Philadelphia has been the talk of the first week of NBA action, but the 76ers’ early season unbeaten streak has reached its end in a 110-90 loss to Steph Curry and the explosive Golden State Warriors.
NBA scores: Steph Curry records a triple-double as Warriors hand Sixers first loss
Clippers explode for 137-118 win over Rockets in Monday nightcap behind 23 points and 17 assists from Chris Paul.
Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Curry recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, Andre Iguodala (32 points) fell two points shy of his career-high and the Dubs held the Sixers to 35 percent shooting in the convincing win. Upstart rookie Michael Carter-Williams had 18 points, but his six turnovers and 4-for-17 shooting performance weren’t enough to keep up with the usual sharpshooting of Golden State.
And when they weren’t firing from deep, Iguodala was doing stuff like this:
And this:
The Warriors hit nearly 40 percent of their 38 three-point attempts and the 76ers fell back to earth, hitting just five of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc. One of Philly’s weaknesses was supposed to be its lack of shooting, and that was finally exposed in the team’s first loss of the season.
David Lee also had 18 points for Golden State, and Evan Turner had 18 for Philadelphia.
Cavaliers 93, Timberwolves 92
Cleveland did everything it could to allow Minnesota to stay undefeated, but a Kevin Love three-point attempt in the final seconds was just off, and the Cavs hung on for a 93-92 victory.
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They didn’t make it easy on themselves, though. The Cavaliers led 91-75 with 4:50 remaining, but a 17-2 Minnesota run put Cleveland on its heels as the seconds wound down. Love’s three from the left wing didn’t go, and the Timberwolves were handed their first loss.
C.J. Miles led the way for Cleveland with 19 points, and Kyrie Irving scored 15 — including the Cavs’ only two points over the final five minutes — in the win. Kevin Love had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, but he wasn’t able to bring Minnesota all the way back to steal one in Cleveland. Kevin Martin led all scorers with 23 points, but the Timberwolves shot just 36 percent from the floor.
Grizzlies 95, Celtics 88
The transition in Memphis hasn’t been as smooth as the Grizzlies had hoped, and the winless Celtics certainly didn’t make things easy on Monday. But the Grizz outscored Boston 29-16 in the fourth quarter on their way to a tense 95-88 win at FedEx Forum.
Boston held a 77-70 lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the game, but Memphis went on a 23-11 run to finish the game and secure the win down the stretch. Zach Randolph and Mike Conley led the way for the Grizzlies with 15 apiece. Jeff Green led all scorers with 22 points.
This was a big win for Memphis, as a home loss to the Rondo-less Celtics would’ve meant a 1-3 start and a lot of questions early on for Dave Joerger.
Clippers 137, Rockets 118
If LeBron James is once again the favorite to win the MVP award, Chris Paul didn’t get the news. The Clippers point guard went for 23 points and 17 assists in a 137-118 rout over the previously undefeated Rockets, and Paul continues to stake his claim as the league’s best point guard.
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He’s just starting to make the ridiculous look easy.
J.J. Redick helped out his backcourt teammate with 26 points in his best performance as a Clipper, and Jamal Crawford hit six three-pointers on his way to 21 points.
Dwight Howard spent most of the first half in foul trouble and only managed 13 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes, and Houston’s backcourt superstar had arguably his worst game of the season. Harden missed all seven of his three-point attempts and registered just 15 points and five assists in 33 minutes.
And how’s this for bad? Houston’s starting lineup had a combined +/- of negative-105 in the loss. That won’t win many games.
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