Steph Curry scored 27 points as the Golden State Warriors withstood a late surge by the Houston Rockets to win 105-98 on Thursday night.
The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead before using a 11-2 run to make it 102-91 with about two minutes remaining. A highlight of that spurt came when Curry juked Jeff Green before swishing a three-pointer and Jimmy Butler wowed the visitor’s bench with a two-handed dunk about a minute later.
Golden State led by as many as 24, and frustrated with the poor performance of his starters, Houston coach Ime Udoka benched Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Dillon Brooks to start the fourth quarter.
NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️
▪️ Clippers (6th in West) win 3rd straight
▪️ Mavericks (8th in West) 4-1 in L5
▪️ Warriors (10th in West) win 3rd in last 4Download the NBA App for more: https://t.co/WAQ7n00Rjz pic.twitter.com/slJ2DKP9h4
— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2025
They rallied, with Aaron Holiday tying a career high with 25 points, but Houston lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Mavericks injury list grows
Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson have joined the Dallas Mavericks’ lengthy injured list – as none of the players who started during the defending Western Conference champions’ season opener are on the court.
But Dante Exum scored a season-high 27 points, one short of his career high, as the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 118-113.
Ex gonna give it to you 😈 pic.twitter.com/nr5B1uzRro
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 14, 2025
Max Christie added 19 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 and Kessler Edwards finished with season highs of 15 points and nine rebounds as the Mavericks won for the fourth time in five games.
Irving has a shoulder strain and Thompson a sprained foot.
The Minnesota Timberwolves also had four of their top eight scorers sidelined by injuries but beat Oklahoma City Thunder 116-101.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 13 points in the first half as Jaylen Clark got his first career start.
“I love how the young guys have been playing. I really do,” said coach Chris Finch.
“We’ve got to try to maintain a role for them going forward. Maybe not every night. They’ve got to stay ready. Who knows when and how healthy we’ll get at any given time, so we’ll wait for that to happen before we make any predictions. But I just kind of like how they’re fighting.”
Meanwhile, Norman Powell scored a season-high 41 points and James Harden added 32 to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to a 120-116 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz.
Harden also had 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Los Angeles clawed back from a 20-point deficit to beat Utah for the second time in three games.
