Warriors fend off Suns as Curry closes strong

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Jimmy Butler III added 25 as the Golden State Warriors avenged a road loss two days earlier by defeating the Phoenix Suns 119–116 on Saturday night in the second half of a home-and-home series.

Curry also recorded a game-high nine rebounds and a game-high-tying six assists for the Warriors, who were forced to regroup after Draymond Green was ejected early in the second quarter just seconds after Golden State fell behind by 14.

Devin Booker led all scorers with 38 points for Phoenix, while Dillon Brooks added 22 for the Suns, who had erased a 14-point Warriors lead to claim a 99–98 home win on Thursday.

Green was ejected with 10:39 remaining in the second period after receiving two technical fouls stemming from an incident in which he shoved Collin Gillespie while running down the court.

Referee Pat Fraher assessed Green with an unsportsmanlike technical foul, and Green drew a second technical after disputing the call, resulting in his first ejection of the season.

Trailing 67–64 at halftime and then falling behind 93–90 after a Gillespie three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, Golden State responded with a decisive 10–2 run to seize control.

Gui Santos opened the surge with a layup and capped it with a three-pointer that put the Warriors ahead 103–92 with 7:10 remaining, their largest lead of the night.

Phoenix rallied again as Booker scored on three straight possessions, including a three-point play at the 2:35 mark, cutting the deficit to 109–105 before missing a potential momentum-shifting three-pointer.

After Curry drained a three, the Suns had a chance to take the lead when down 115–113, but Gillespie missed a three-pointer with 18.4 seconds left.

Curry made two free throws, though Gillespie answered with a 25-footer with 10.9 seconds remaining to pull Phoenix within 117–116.

Curry then capped his night with a layup off an inbounds play to restore a three-point cushion, and Booker missed a desperation 40-footer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.

Will Richard contributed 20 points and Brandin Podziemski added 11 as Golden State’s bench outscored Phoenix’s reserves 52–31.

Gillespie finished with 16 points, while Oso Ighodaro posted 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Suns, who lost for the third time in their last four games.

Celtics roll past Raptors

Payton Pritchard scored 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter and added 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 112–96 on Saturday night.

Derrick White and Anfernee Simons each scored 15 points for Boston, which won for the seventh time in nine games and completed a back-to-back sweep.

Neemias Queta had 14 points, Luka Garza added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Hugo Gonzalez finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in a balanced Celtics attack.

Brandon Ingram and Sandro Mamukelashvili each scored 24 points for Toronto, which has dropped five of its last seven games, while Scottie Barnes added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Jaylen Brown missed the game due to illness for Boston, and Toronto was without Jakob Poeltl because of a back injury.

Boston built an 83–80 lead entering the fourth quarter and quickly stretched it to double digits as White hit consecutive three-pointers to make it 97–84 with 8:01 remaining.

The Celtics outrebounded the Raptors 55–37 and outscored them 54–32 in the paint to seal their second win over Toronto this season.

76ers stay hot, outshoot Mavericks late

Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 64 points as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 121–114 on Saturday night.

Maxey finished with a game-high 38 points, Edgecombe scored 26, and Dominick Barlow added 21 as Philadelphia won for the fifth time in its last seven games despite missing Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg scored 24 points each for Dallas, while Naji Marshall added 22 in a losing effort.

Maxey and Edgecombe fueled an 11–0 fourth-quarter run that broke a 104–104 tie, pushing the 76ers ahead for good.

Philadelphia outscored Dallas 36–9 from three-point range, making 12 of 40 attempts while the Mavericks missed 15 of 18 from deep.

Durant, Rockets snap Nuggets home streak

Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Reed Sheppard added 28 as the Houston Rockets defeated the Denver Nuggets 115–101 on Saturday night.

Sheppard went 6-for-9 from three-point range, helping Houston tie a season high with 19 made threes to end a four-game road losing streak.

Nikola Jokic scored 25 points for Denver, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped and dropped its fifth home game in the last seven.

Houston took control in the second quarter and never relinquished the lead, pulling away late behind clutch shooting and defensive pressure.

Nuggets coach David Adelman was ejected in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical foul, marking the first ejection of his head coaching career.