NBA roundup: Curry, Avdija, Gilgeous-Alexander deliver

Stephen Curry scored a team-high 31 points, De’Anthony Melton added a season-high 22, and the Golden State Warriors opened an eight-game homestand with a 120-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in San Francisco. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 34 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes, but Milwaukee fell short of a third straight win.

Golden State led 53-50 late in the second quarter, then used Antetokounmpo’s third foul as a turning point, scoring 11 straight points while he sat to build a 64-53 halftime lead. Melton hit a 3-pointer in the run — his third long-range make in four tries in the half — and with Moses Moody also knocking down three 3s, the Warriors went 12-for-25 from deep in the opening 24 minutes and outscored the Bucks 36-12 from beyond the arc.

Fueled by 49% shooting and 18 made 3-pointers, Golden State never trailed in the second half and logged its seventh win in the last 10 games. Curry’s 31-point night was his 12th 30-point game of the season, and he also had a team-high-tying seven assists and seven rebounds, while Melton — who had not scored more than 16 points or made more than three 3-pointers in any game this season — went 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

Al Horford provided eight points, a game-high-tying 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks off the bench for the Warriors, while Jimmy Butler III scored 21 points, Draymond Green added 14 points and seven assists, and Quinten Post chipped in 11. Antetokounmpo shot 15-for-22 as the Bucks lost despite hitting 54% overall and 44% from 3-point range, and Milwaukee attempted 12 free throws — only three more than Butler alone — while being outscored 14-7 at the line.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 15 points and handed out a game-high nine assists for Milwaukee, Ryan Rollins scored 16, Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma had 13 apiece, and AJ Green added 11.

In Portland, Deni Avdija erupted for 41 points as the Trail Blazers edged the visiting Houston Rockets 103-102 on Wednesday night after Tari Eason’s last-second tip-in was ruled late. Houston trailed by one when Kevin Durant missed a jumper with 0.8 seconds left, Eason tapped in the rebound, and officials then waved it off after review, ruling his fingertips were still on the ball when the backboard light came on.

Avdija logged his second career 40-point game, with Shaedon Sharpe adding 20 as Portland won its fourth straight and sixth in seven. Durant matched his season high with 37 points and Amen Thompson posted 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Houston, while Eason finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Rockets lost despite a 57-38 rebounding edge that included 24 offensive boards.

Toumani Camara scored 14 points before fouling out for Portland, which never trailed in the second half, while Donovan Clingan posted 12 points and seven rebounds and reserve Caleb Love added 10. The teams play again Friday in Portland.

Avdija’s inside basket made it 103-99 with 48.9 seconds left, and Portland then fouled Durant with 5.9 seconds remaining to prevent a tying 3, with Durant making both free throws to pull Houston within 103-102. On the ensuing inbounds, Eason intercepted Sharpe’s pass and was initially whistled for a foul, but Houston challenged and won, setting up the final play that was ultimately overturned.

Portland shot 43.4% from the field and went 12 of 40 from 3-point range, while Houston shot 37.4% overall and hit 8 of 36 from deep. Portland led 57-47 at halftime behind 18 first-half points from Avdija, with Durant scoring 16 in the half, and the Trail Blazers carried an 81-75 lead into the fourth.

Houston tied it at 84 with 8:56 left after scoring six straight, and after Portland answered with four points, the Rockets missed five shots on a single possession before Portland finally secured the rebound and Camara drilled a 3 to make it 91-84 with 6:50 remaining.

In San Antonio, Keldon Johnson scored 27 points and the Spurs’ balanced attack handled the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 107-91 on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams. The Spurs led by five at halftime, stretched the margin to 12 with just under four minutes left in the third, and Los Angeles never got closer than seven the rest of the way, with Stephon Castle’s driving layup with 4:14 remaining pushing the lead to 14.

Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for the second straight game and delivered 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in 26 minutes for San Antonio, while Castle scored 15, De’Aaron Fox had 14 and Julian Champagnie added 11. Luka Doncic piled up 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who rested LeBron James on the second night of the back-to-back, and Doncic also had seven turnovers, with Jake LaRavia scoring 16 and Jaxson Hayes adding 10.

A Johnson layup with 21 seconds left in the first quarter put the Spurs up 26-23, and San Antonio pushed the lead to seven early in the second when Carter Bryant hit a 3 two minutes into the period. Los Angeles responded with an 11-0 run capped by Deandre Ayton’s layup for a 34-30 lead with 7:11 left before halftime, but the Spurs closed the half in front, matching their biggest lead when Johnson hit a 3 with 51.9 seconds remaining, before Doncic’s finger-roll layup 18 seconds later cut it to 48-43 at the break.

Doncic carried Los Angeles early with 22 first-half points to go with six rebounds and seven assists, outscoring the rest of his teammates by one, while Johnson led the Spurs with 14 before halftime. The Lakers trimmed it to 56-54 on Jarred Vanderbilt’s layup with 8:08 left in the third, but San Antonio answered, going up 71-59 on Johnson’s 3 with 3:38 remaining in the quarter.

In Memphis, Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Grayson Allen added 19 as the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Grizzlies 117-98 on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series. Phoenix, which won for the seventh time in nine games, knocked down 22 3-pointers, with Brooks and Allen hitting five apiece, and after Brooks’ 12-footer made it 10-8 early in the first quarter, the Suns never trailed again.

Brooks scored 18 points in the first half against his former team, and Allen — also a former Grizzlies player — played his second game back from a nine-game absence due to a knee injury. Devin Booker had 13 points and eight assists, Mark Williams posted 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Phoenix led 65-47 at halftime before pushing the lead to 24 late in the third on an Allen 3.

The Suns stretched the margin to 26 in the fourth, taking a 94-68 lead on a Collin Gillespie 3, and Phoenix’s second-quarter surge included a 10-2 closing run that made it an 18-point halftime advantage, with Brooks and Booker scoring the final 12 points of the half, capped by Booker’s buzzer-beater.

Memphis, playing the second night of a back-to-back, lost for the fifth time in six games after sweeping the four-game series last season and winning the only earlier meeting this season in Phoenix. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 19 for the Grizzlies, Cam Spencer, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Javon Small had 14 apiece, and Small added seven assists, while Memphis played its third straight game without Ja Morant (injured right calf) and rookie starter Cedric Coward missed his second straight game with a left ankle sprain.

In Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 46 points as the Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 129-125 in overtime Wednesday. Gilgeous-Alexander hit the shot that forced the extra period, then Chet Holmgren broke a tie by slamming home Gilgeous-Alexander’s miss with 30 seconds left in overtime, and Gilgeous-Alexander sealed it by rebounding Svi Mykhailiuk’s missed corner 3 and sinking two free throws to make it a two-possession game with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished 14-of-26 from the field and 17-of-19 from the line, and he played 42 minutes without a turnover.