The Golden State Warriors picked up where they left off in June, riding Stephen Curry's long-range shooting and a defense that frustrated Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum for a 123-107 victory Saturday night in a rematch of the NBA Finals in San Francisco.
Klay Thompson poured in a game-high 34 points, Curry had 32 and Jordan Poole 20 as the Warriors were able to outgun the league's top offensive team without Andrew Wiggins, who missed his third straight game with a strained right adductor.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 31 points, but Tatum was held to 18 points on 6-for-21 shooting and 2-for-9 on 3-pointers as Boston was outshot 51.1 percent to 43.7 percent overall and outscored 39-36 from beyond the arc.
The Warriors trailed only briefly, and never by more than one point, before building a 14-point lead late in the third quarter. Seeking a fourth consecutive win to begin a six-game trip, the Celtics got within eight on two occasions in the fourth period, the last time when Derrick White hit a pair of free throws with still 5:29 to play.
But Tatum missed two free throws with a chance to close the gap to six, and when Kevon Looney and Draymond Green dropped in interior hoops and Curry buried his sixth 3-pointer of the game, Golden State regained command at 114-99 with just 3:51 left.
NETS 136, PACERS 133
Cam Thomas scored 21 of his career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter as undermanned Brooklyn rallied down the stretch to beat Indiana in Indianapolis.
Playing their first back-to-back in nearly two weeks, the Nets were without stars Kevin Durant (rest) and Kyrie Irving (adductor). Brooklyn also rested Ben Simmons (calf) after he returned from a four-game absence and sat T.J. Warren (injury management), Seth Curry (left ankle), Nic Claxton (hamstring) and Royce O'Neale (personal).
Thomas entered averaging 6.1 points per game but seized the opportunity to play major minutes. He made 13 of 20 shots and 8 of 11 in the fourth when the Nets scored 41 points and shot 75 percent (15-for-20). Tyrese Haliburton collected 35 points (7-for-8 from 3-point range) and nine assists in defeat for the Pacers.
BULLS 144, MAVERICKS 115
DeMar DeRozan collected 28 points and nine rebounds and Nikola Vucevic added 20 and eight, respectively, to propel host Chicago to a blowout victory over short-handed Dallas.
Chicago's Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points off the bench and Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. each had 16. Williams and Jones each drained four 3-pointers for the Bulls, who made 63.5 percent of their shots from the floor (54-for-85) and 55.9 percent from beyond the arc (19-for-34).
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points with eight assists and Christian Wood added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who fell to 3-9 on the road this season. Dallas was without Luka Doncic, who entered Saturday with a league-best 32.9 points per game.
Spurs 115, Heat 111
Devin Vassell made two straight mid-range jumpers -- including the go-ahead shot with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter -- leading lowly San Antonio to a win over host Miami.
With the Spurs leading 113-111, the Heat went for the potential win on their final possession and missed two straight 3-pointers by Tyler Herro and by Caleb Martin. Miami was led by Jimmy Butler, who scored a game-high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Herro added 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3-pointers.
San Antonio got 21 points from Keldon Johnson, 19 points from Romeo Langford and 18 from Vassell, who had missed San Antonio's previous contest due to a knee injury. The Spurs, who entered the game tied with Houston for the worst record in the Western Conference, won their second straight following an 11-game losing skid.
CLIPPERS 114, WIZARDS 107
Paul George scored 36 points and visiting Los Angeles rallied from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Washington.
George had seven rebounds and shot 13 of 27 from the field, including 5 of 12 from 3-point range. Marcus Morris Sr. added 19 points for Los Angeles, which had lost four of five. Kawhi Leonard added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Former Wizards star John Wall scored 13 points for the Clippers in his return to Washington.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 35 points and 12 rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds. The Wizards, who have lost six straight, were missing several players, including Bradley Beal (strained hamstring) and Rui Hachimura (right ankle soreness).
CAVALIERS 110, THUNDER 102
Caris LeVert scored 22 points to lead host Cleveland to a win over Oklahoma City.
Evan Mobley scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, making all five of his shots. He also finished with 12 rebounds. Jarrett Allen also scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which won for the fourth time in six games. Darius Garland had 13 points and eight assists.
The Thunder drained four left-corner 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth -- two each by Aleksej Pokusevski and Isaiah Joe to tie it with a 17-4 run. But the Cavs quickly regained control, thanks to Mobley's 3-pointer and Allen's dunk. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, his fewest field-goal tries of the season. Josh Giddey had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
NUGGETS 115, JAZZ 110
Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 30 points and host Denver beat short-handed Utah.
Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 15 points each, and Bones Hyland scored 11 for the Nuggets.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Beasley had 19 points each and Kelly Olynyk finished with 18 points for the Jazz. Utah was already without Mike Conley (left leg), Lauri Markkanen (illness) and Simone Fontecchio (left ankle sprain), and Jordan Clarkson was scratched from the lineup with a right hip contusion.
TRAIL BLAZERS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 118
Damian Lillard recorded 36 points and eight assists to lead Portland to a victory over visiting Minnesota in the first game of a back-to-back set.
Anfernee Simons made five 3-pointers and scored 31 points as the Trail Blazers ended a five-game losing streak against Minnesota. Jerami Grant added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Hart had 11 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Edwards had 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert registered 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and collected nine rebounds, and D'Angelo Russell also scored 24 points.
Russell made a trey to bring the Timberwolves within 120-116 with 1:08 to play, but Lillard made a jumper with 46.8 seconds remaining and later added two free throws to cap off a 15-of-15 effort from the line.
