STEPH CURRY BECAME the fifth player in Golden State Warriors history to reach 15,000 career regular-season points after the NBA champions beat the Memphis Grizzlies.
Curry joined Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin on Golden State’s list during Monday’s 110-93 victory.
“It’s a really cool milestone, an unbelievable journey so far,” Curry said.
“But it’s just more motivation to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m blessed to play this game, with great team-mates. We can all accomplish great things if we stay in the moment.”
The two-time MVP finished with 20 points and seven rebounds to help lead the Warriors in Oakland, while Kevin Durant posted 23 points to move 33rd on the all-time scoring list.
Durant and Curry were two of five Warriors players to make double figures as the depth of the NBA champions proved too much for Memphis at Oakland’s Oracle Arena.
Meanwhile in Houston, James Harden exploded for 47 points as the Rockets overpowered the Utah Jazz 102-97 to extend their winning streak to four games.
Reigning NBA MVP Harden produced a dazzling display of scoring to delight the home fans at the Toyota Center with a win that took the Rockets above .500 for the season.
Houston are now 15-14 for the season while Utah have slipped to 14-17, one place off the bottom in the Western Conference.
Harden’s virtuoso display included six rebounds and five assists. Three other Houston players made double figures, with P.J. Tucker finishing with 16 points and Eric Gordon adding 12 points.
Clint Capela hauled down 14 rebounds to dominate the boards.
But it was Harden’s eye-catching display that dominated the postgame discussion, with coach Mike D’Antoni leading the plaudits.
Harden has averaged just over 38 points per game in his last five games.
“This level, the last three or four games are as good as he ever played,” D’Antoni said.
“It’s just the determination that he has. He cares. Every big shot. Every big play. This is an MVP level. He’s been that way the past week and for the right reasons. He’s been playing this way for a little bit.”
Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the Detroit Pistons 107-104 thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo and his supporting cast proved to be too hot to handle, despite a triple-double performance from Blake Griffin and an impressive fourth-quarter comeback by the Pistons.
Detroit trailed by 15 at one point down the stretch, but they went on a huge run to cut the lead down to one with a little less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Antetokounmpo, however, demonstrated his vast skill set and led his team to the victory.
Antetokounmpo recorded 32 points and 12 rebounds on 15-of-21 shooting, while Khris Middleton poured in 22 points to support Milwaukee’s superstar.
Pistons star Griffin had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the losing effort, and Reggie Bullock posted a career-high 24 points.
- With reporting from AFP.
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