Los Angeles: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant each scored 28 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-109 on Friday despite losing Curry in the second half to an ankle injury.
Curry tallied 15 of his points in the final seven minutes of the second quarter, then left the game for good in the third after initially tweaking his right ankle in the opening period.
Curry played just six minutes in the third before sitting down for the rest of the contest.
He said he doesn’t expect to miss much time going forward.
“Basically their call,” Curry said. “Frustrating, but in the big picture I understand. I don’t think it’s going to be anything that will keep me out.”
Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala made a clutch dunk in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to help seal the win. With Golden State ahead by three points, the Hawks took possession with a chance to tie the game. But Iguodala stripped the ball from a Hawks player then raced the length of the court for a slam dunk with five seconds left.
The play solidified the defending NBA champion Warriors’ 25th road win of the season, giving them the best road record in the league (25-7).
Atlanta rallied from an 18-point deficit. Prior to Iguodala’s dunk they had used a 9-0 burst to pull within two points with 20 seconds remaining.
Curry shot eight-of-15 from the field, four-of-nine from three-point range and made all eight of his free throws in 23 minutes of playing time.
Curry also hit his 200th three-point field goal of the season. He is the first player in league history to sink at least 200 threes in six different seasons.
Curry missed time earlier this season with a sprained right ankle and his health would most likely be a factor in determining the Warriors’ chances of winning back-to-back titles.
His history of ankle injuries includes missing 13 games this season after spraining it on December 4th in New Orleans.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said they don’t want to take any chances with Curry’s health.
Playing it safe
“He wanted to stay in but we didn’t want him to stay in just because of the potential to make it worse,” Kerr said.
Elsewhere, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and reserve CJ Miles chipped in 20 as the Toronto Raptors won their season-high fourth straight game on the road with a 102-95 win over the Washington Wizards.
Miles scored 11 points in the second half and was six of nine from beyond the arc as the Raptors’ reserves dominated the Wizards’ bench 50-15.
Eastern Conference leaders Toronto have won 10 of their last 11 contests.
Otto Porter led Washington with 24 points on nine-of-12 shooting and Bradley Beal rebounded from an eight-point game on Wednesday against Golden State to finish with 23.
In Milwaukee, Victor Oladipo had 21 points, and the Indiana Pacers nearly blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter before holding off the Milwaukee Bucks for a 103-96 win. — AFP
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