The Golden State Warriors recorded a first round knockout in their battle with the San Antonio Spurs for Western Conference regular-season superiority, riding Stephen Curry's 37 points to a 120-90 victory in Monday's highly anticipated showdown. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player bombed in five three-pointers as the Warriors (41-4) shot 11-for-26 from beyond the arc in the first meeting of the top two teams in the West this season. Golden State's 39th consecutive home victory — its 21st this season — gave it a three-game lead over San Antonio (38-7) in its duel for top seeding in the Western playoffs. The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Spurs, who had an 18-point average margin of victory during that run. They played without star power forward Tim Duncan, who was resting an ailing right knee. Curry, who hit 12 of his 20 shots overall, also had four assists and five steals in 29 minutes for the Warriors, whose last home loss (Nov. 11, 2014) came at the hands of the Spurs. In fact, San Antonio had prevailed in 23 of its previous 26 visits to Oakland before falling behind by seven in the fifth minute of the game and by as many as 19 in the second period. Curry set the tone early, connecting on three three-pointers in a 15-point first period during which the Spurs fell behind despite playing their most competitive ball of the night. But when backup guard Shaun Livingston got into the act with five consecutive hoops in the second period, including dunks off assists from Curry, power forward Draymond Green and reserve Andre Iguodala, the game got away from the Spurs for good. Heat 89, Bulls 84: Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Miami Heat rallied for an 89-84 win over the Chicago Bulls. Chris Bosh scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Amar'e Stoudemire added eight points and 10 rebounds for Miami (24-21), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Celtics 116, Wizards 91: Isaiah Thomas continued to torment the Washington Wizards with 23 points and nine assists as the Boston Celtics finished off a four-game season sweep with a 116-91 win. Evan Turner scored 18 points for the Celtics (25-21), who outscored the Wizards 63-42 in the second half and led by as many as 27 points in their third straight win. Cavaliers 114, Timberwolves 107: LeBron James had 25 points and nine assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a late charge for a 114-107 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves to give Tyronn Lue his first win as a head coach. Rockets 112, Pelicans 111: James Harden scored 35 points and Trevor Ariza added 31 to lift the Houston Rockets to a 112-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Grizzlies 108, Magic 102 (OT): Jeff Green scored a season-high 30 points and Zach Randolph added 18 and 13 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 108-102 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic. Hawks 119, Nuggets 105: Paul Millsap had 22 points and nine rebounds, Al Horford scored 18, and the Atlanta Hawks grabbed a big lead early and cruised to a 119-105 win over the Denver Nuggets. Pistons 95, Jazz 92: Reggie Jackson scored 29 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 16 to help the Detroit Pistons hold off a late fourth-quarter rally and beat the Utah Jazz 95-92. Hornets 129, Kings 128 (double OT): Troy Daniels netted his eighth three-pointer of the game with nine seconds remaining in the second period of overtime as the Charlotte Hornets scored a 129-128 victory over the Sacramento Kings Monday at Sleep Train Arena.
