Warriors outlast Lakers in overtime; Rockets, Spurs win
Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (center) drives to the basket defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left) and forward Draymond Green during the second half of their NBA match at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 29, 2017.
Stephen Curry scored 13 of his 28 points in overtime as the NBA champions Golden State Warriors edged the Lakers 127-123 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Curry struggled from 3-point range for much of the night, going 1-of-7 from beyond the arc before starting overtime with back-to-back three-pointers.
That put the Warriors up 115-109, and two days after their shock defeat by the Sacramento Kings, they held on for the win.
The Warriors, who were without Curry and Kevin Durant in the loss to Sacramento, haven't lost back-to-back games this season — but they were less than impressive in maintaining that record.
Head coach Steve Kerr admitted that after two titles in three successive trips to the NBA Finals the Warriors aren't always showing their "killer instinct".
"Our guys are competitive, so when we lose we tend to get a little angry," he said. "It's more challenging this year than it has been the last few years. They haven't been getting quite as angry this year as they have in the last few years."
The score was knotted at 84-84 to start the fourth quarter, and the lead changed hands five times in the period.
Durant, who led the Warriors with 29 points, pulled Golden State level with a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in regulation and both teams missed shots as it went to overtime.
As the reigning champions clawed out their victory, the current Western Conference leaders Houston rolled to a sixth straight win, a 118-97 home victory over the Indiana Pacers.
James Harden scored 29 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists for the Rockets despite struggling early with his long-range shot.
Harden missed his first six 3-point attempts before finally converting from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
Two more 3-pointers quickly followed as the Rockets pulled away.
Houston finished November with a 12-1 record, with two six-game winning streaks bracketing a lone home defeat to the Toronto Raptors on November 14.
Harden said they don't intend to let up.
"We're never satisfied," Harden said. "Right now we're playing pretty well. We're going to go on the road and continue what we've been doing."
The San Antonio Spurs, third in the West, were fueled by 41 points from LaMarcus Aldridge as they handed the Memphis Grizzlies a ninth straight defeat, 104-95.
Aldridge notched his fourth game with 30-plus points this season, coming up just 3 points shy of his regular-season career high of 44 points.
"It feels good — I'm taking my time and finding my shots and trying to make the other guys better," said Aldridge, who connected on 17 of 24 from the field.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was: Magic 121, Thunder 108; Timberwolves 120, Pelicans 102; Knicks 115, Heat 86; 76ers 118, Wizards 113; Pistons 131, Suns 107; Raptors 126, Hornets 113; and Nets 109, Mavericks 104.
