Curry wins scoring title, Warriors take 8th spot in West

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry became the oldest scoring champion since Michael Jordan at age 35 in 1998, finishing with 46 points as the Golden S...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry became the oldest scoring champion since Michael Jordan at age 35 in 1998, finishing with 46 points as the Golden State Warriors held off the Memphis Grizzlies 113-101 on Sunday in a regular-season finale that determined the play-in tournament’s eighth and ninth spots.

The Warriors wrapped up the No. 8 seed and will play Wednesday, while Memphis finishes at No. 9 and will host the Spurs on Wednesday. Golden State’s opponent was dependent on Sunday night’s results for the Lakers and Portland.

At 33, Curry and Jordan are the only scoring champions age 33 or older. Curry also joins Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players with multiple scoring titles, MVPs and championships.

Two-time MVP Curry locked up his first scoring title since 2015-16 with his second basket of the game late in the first quarter. He made 9 of 22 3s and also contributed nine assists and seven rebounds in Golden State’s sixth straight win. Curry averaged 32 points during his second 2,000-point season.

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Jonas Valanciunas led Memphis with 29 points and 16 rebounds.

SUNS 123, SPURS 121

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — E’Twaun Moore scored 22 points and made a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift Phoenix past San Antonio Spurs 123-121 keep alive their chances at the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA.

Utah could secure the top seed in the West with a win over Sacramento on Sunday night, but the Suns would get the top seed if the Jazz lose because Phoenix swept the season series.

Playing without Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, the Suns were bailed out late by Moore. He also made a 3 with 1:08 remaining to stop a 9-0 run by San Antonio and finished 9 of 10 from the field. Jevon Carter has 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Cameron Payne also had 19 points.

Keita Bates-Diop tipped in a missed free throw by Tre Jones to put San Antonio ahead 121-120 with 10 seconds left, setting up Moore’s winning 26-footer.

he Suns rested their All-Star backcourt of Booker and Paul for in the final regular-season game for both teams. Phoenix was also without starting center , who missed his third straight game with a sore left knee.

DeMar DeRozan had 23 points for San Antonio.

KNICKS 96, CELTICS 92

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle capped his All-Star season with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists New York beat Boston to take the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

RJ Barrett scored 22 points for the Knicks. They won their third straight to finish 41-31 and set up a first-round series with the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks are headed to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Atlantic Division title in 2012-13.

Jabari Parker scored 18 points for Boston. The Celtics were already locked into the play-in tournament at the No. 7 spot and rested all their top players. They will face Washington.

WIZARDS 115, HORNETS 110

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Washington rallied to beat Charlotte to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The Wizards will play at Boston in a play-in game. The Hornets closed the regular season on a five-game losing streak to drop to the 10th spot in the East and will play at Indiana in the play-in round.

Russell Westbrook had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for Washington for his 184th career triple-double — three more than Oscar Robertson’s previous NBA record — and 38th this season alone.

PACERS 125, RAPTORS 113

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Oshae Brissett scored a career-best 31 points, Domantas Sabonis added 25 points, 16 rebounds and three steals and Indiana beat Toronto to lock up the Eastern Conference’s ninth seed.

Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak and secured home-court advantage for a play-in game against Charlotte.

Malachi Flynn scored a career-best 27 points for Toronto.

16 May 2021, 22:58 | Views: 297

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