Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (right) is blocked by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine during the first half of the NBA game at the United Center. (USA TODAY Sports)

Reuters/Sacramento, California


Stephen Curry cooled off but that didn’t stop the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from reeling off their seventh straight win to open the season, a 103-94 triumph over the Kings in Sacramento on Saturday. Curry came into the contest riding a wave of four straight games of 30 points or more but settled for 24 in his worst shooting night of the fledgling season.
The reigning Most Valuable Player missed his first eight shots from three-point range, but his first three-pointer proved key, putting the Warriors ahead 81-79 with 5:43 to play. He finished by connecting on eight of 18 attempts from the floor, two of 10 from three-point range—his 80th straight game with at least one three-pointer, the third-longest such streak in NBA history.
Curry wasn’t the only Golden State player struggling from long range as the Warriors missed 16 of their first 17 shots from beyond the arc. But they benefited from 21 Kings turnovers that led to 29 Warriors points as Sacramento again felt the absence of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who missed his fourth game with a strained right Achilles tendon.
Despite their shooting woes the Warriors held off two second-half Kings rallies. Forward Marco Belinelli’s three-pointer with 6:48 left in the third quarter capped a 23-7 scoring run that put the Kings up 55-53. But Warriors guard Klay Thompson responded with a three-pointer to start a run of 14 straight Golden State points.
The Kings came back again, with forward Omri Casspi draining two three-pointers and Belinelli adding another as the Kings out-scored the Warriors 24-11 over the next seven minutes. A jump shot from Rajon Rondo put Sacramento up 79-78 with 6:37 to play.
Rondo finished with a triple-double of 14 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds, but Curry’s three-pointer with 5:43 left gave the Warriors a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Rockets 109, Clippers 105
Guard James Harden scored a season-best 46 points to spark the Houston Rockets to a 109-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.
Center Dwight Howard finished with 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Rockets (4-3), who posted their fourth consecutive win. Forward Marcus Thornton chipped in 16 points.
Forward Blake Griffin had 35 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to lead Los Angeles (4-2), which lost its second straight game and played without point guard Chris Paul (sore right groin).

Bucks 94, Nets 86
Greg Monroe scored 20 points and Jerryd Bayless added 19 off the bench as Milwaukee extended its winning streak to four games with a victory over Brooklyn at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Monroe hit 8-of-16 shots and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line but failed to record a double-double for the first time this season, finishing with eight rebounds.
Bayless scored 14 of his points in the second half, as the Bucks broke a 55-55 halftime tie with a 23-point third quarter and took a 78-72 lead into the fourth.
Mavericks 107, Pelicans 98
Despite the season being less than two weeks old, both Dallas and New Orleans took the floor with a sense of desperation.
The Mavericks avoided a winless opening homestand by pulling away in the final period to top the injury-ravaged Pelicans at American Airlines Center.

Timberwolves 102, Bulls 93 (OT)
Guard Andrew Wiggins scored 31 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Chicago Bulls for a 102-93 overtime win.
Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to post his third double-double in five games. Forward Nemanja Bjelica added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota.

Magic 105, 76ers 97
Guard Elfrid Payton scored 12 of his season-high 20 points in the final 7:45 as the Orlando Magic held off the Philadelphia 76ers.
Payton led seven players in double figures for Orlando, with forward Evan Fournier scoring 17, Victor Oladipo (15), Dewayne Dedmon (12) and guard Mario Hezonja 11.

Hawks 114, Wizards 99
Forward Kent Bazemore had a career-high 25 points and the Hawks pulled away with a finishing kick after a cold shooting start for a 114-99 victory over the turnover-plagued Washington Wizards.
Forward Paul Millsap added 21 points as the Hawks forced 25 turnovers.

Spurs 114, Hornets 94
Small forward Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points as the San Antonio went berserk offensively in the third quarter of a 114-94 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Spurs shot 55.6 percent for the game, but it was not until their 42-point explosion in the third quarter that they took control.
Guard Manu Ginobili knocked down three three-pointers and point guard Patty Mills added another one in the middle of a 24-2 run late in the third that turned a six-point deficit into an 89-73 advantage.

Jazz 89, Grizzlies 79
Guard Trey Burke led all scorers with 24 points and sizzled with six three-pointers while the Utah Jazz defense stifled the struggling Memphis Grizzlies in a 89-79 victory.
Forward Gordon Hayward had another solid outing after a slow start to the season, scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Derrick Favors contributed 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Guard Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 20 points while centre Marc Gasol, who has been dealing with a neck strain, totalled 13 points and 10 rebounds.