Warriors blowout the Grizzlies, Cavs beat 76ers
James reaches 25,000 career points in Cavs’ win over 76ers
Lebron James during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 26, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. PHILADELPHIA: LeBron James needed one simple slam to hit another major milestone. James became the youngest player to reach 25,000 career points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 on Monday night. James had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and rallied the Cavs in the second half against a scrappy Philly team that had built a 15-point lead. James, a two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, and the rest of the Eastern Conference champions had enough to push back the undermanned Sixers. James scored the milestone basket on an alley-oop dunk with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter. He became the sixth active player with 25,000 points and the 20th overall, joining Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce of the Clippers. James reached 25,000 career points - the dunk gave him 25,001 – at 30 years, 307 days. Bryant held the mark at 31 years, 351 days. James' biggest feat may have been giving 18,094 76ers fans a reason to cheer, and he was rewarded with a standing ovation. James scored six points in the third quarter to help the Cavaliers start their rally against the 0-3 Sixers. He made 9 of 19 shots and had four steals. But it was the latest major achievement that stuck with James, who went from Ohio prep star to the No. 1 overall selection by Cleveland in the 2003 draft. Jahlil Okafor, the No. 3 overall pick of this year’s draft, fought through foul trouble and led the Sixers with 24 points. Nik Stauskas scored 15 and Nerlens Noel 14. Okafor and Noel are the building blocks of a franchise years away from contention. Okafor and Noel, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2013 draft, gave the Sixers a peek in the first half at just good they might be one day. Noel and Okafor powered Philadelphia to a 32-18 lead after one and a 54-49 edge at the break. James and Kevin Love, who scored 15, got the Cavs rolling. Cleveland made 13 of 20 shots in the third to help put the game away. Quarter by quarter
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Cleveland Cavaliers 18 31 33 25 107 Philadelphia 76ers 32 22 18 22 100 Another big night for Curry, Warriors breeze past Memphis
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 27: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against the Houston Rockets in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs on May 27, 2015 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) OAKLAND: A 50-point win for Stephen Curry and the defending champion Warriors and the season isn't even a week old. Curry scored 21 of his 30 points in an emphatic third-quarter stretch and the reigning NBA MVP followed up his 53-point performance from the weekend with another gem to lead unbeaten Golden State past the Memphis Grizzlies 119-69 on Monday night. Curry did not play in the fourth quarter with his team up big after shooting 10 for 16 and hitting four 3-pointers to give him 21 through four games. Curry also had a huge third quarter with a career-best 28 points in Saturday's win at New Orleans, and he won Western Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging a league-best 39.3 points. The Grizzlies were outscored 72-27 over the second and third quarters on the way to the worst defeat in franchise history. Festus Ezeli added 11 points and 10 rebounds filling in for injured center Andrew Bogut, and Curry scored 16 straight points during one stretch in Golden State's franchise-record 20th straight win at Oracle Arena. It was the team's first 50-point win since exactly 24 years earlier when the Warriors beat Sacramento 153-91 on Nov. 2, 1991. The Grizzlies starters combined to shoot 11 for 46, led by Marc Gasol's 13 points. Curry made a steal and a driving hook shot with 6:28 left in the third to put Golden State ahead 75-40. He knocked down a 3-pointer a minute later and another about 30 seconds after that. The Grizzlies kicked off a season-long five-game, nine-day road trip in forgettable fashion, going 3 for 23 from 3-point range. Quarter by quarter
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Golden State Warriors 21 32 40 26 119 Memphis Grizllies 22 12 15 20 69 Results: Cleveland Cavaliers 107 beat Philadelphia 76ers 100, Milwaukee Bucks 103 beat Brooklyn Nets 96, San Antonio Spurs 94 beat New York Knicks 84, Houston Rockets 110 beat Oklahoma City Thunder 105, Portland Trailblazers 10t beat Minnesota Timberwolves 101, Golden State Warriors 119 beat Memphis Grizzlies 69, Los Angeles Clippers 102 beat Phoenix Suns 96. Live on Sony Six on November 3 , 2015 New Orleans Pelicans v/s Orlando Magic 6:30Am Los Angeles Lakers v/s Denver Nuggets 9:00Am NBA News, a newsletter produced by the NBA Communications Group, highlights the latest storylines, key statistics, upcoming events and more from around the league.
HOUSTON, TX - MAY 25: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA PLayoffs at Toyota Center on May 25, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
CURRY COOKING:Stephen Curry has picked up where he left off last season. Curry’s 53-point performance in Saturday’s victory over the Pelicans -- including a third quarter in which he outscored New Orleans 28-26 -- was one point short of his career high and raised his season average to 39.3 points in 33.0 minutes during Golden State’s 3-0 start. The reigning Kia NBA MVP is the first player to score at least 118 points through three games since Michael Jordan in the 1989-90 season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Curry will look to stay hot Monday as the Warriors play host to the Grizzlies in the second game of NBA TV’s doubleheader (10:30 p.m. ET). The opener features the 3-0 Thunder visiting the Rockets (8 p.m. ET).
GOING TO TOWNS:Karl-Anthony Towns’ historic start has helped Minnesota open 2-0 with two road victories. The No. 1 pick in NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds in his regular-season debut and 28 points and 14 rebounds to go with four blocks in his second game. Those performances make the 19-year-old the youngest player in NBA history to record double-doubles in his first two career games and the fourth player in the last 40 seasons (along with Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore, David Robinson and Dikembe Mutombo) to have at least 42 points and 26 rebounds in his first two games, according to Elias. Towns and the Timberwolves play their home opener against Portland on Monday (8 p.m. ET, NBA LEAGUE PASS), Minnesota’s first game at Target Center since Flip Saunders’ passing.
MOTORING:The Pistons are one of the NBA’s five 3-0 teams -- a stark contrast to last season, when they lost their first three games en route to a 5-23 start, before playing .500 basketball over their final 54 games (27-27). Stingy defense and strong rebounding have offset Detroit’s 38.7 percent shooting as a team, with Andre Drummond averaging a league-high 16.3 rebounds (along with 18.7 points) and anchoring a D that has yet to allow more than 94 points in a game. A home victory against Indiana on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NBA LEAGUE PASS) would give the Pistons their first 4-0 record since the 2008-09 season and keep them unbeaten ahead of a six-game road trip against all Western Conference teams.
What to watch for around the NBA this week (all times Eastern): Monday, Nov. 2: LeBron James enters the Cavaliers’ road game against the 76ers (7 p.m., NBA LEAGUE PASS) needing 21 points to reach 25,000 for his career. James, 30, is set to become the youngest player in NBA history and the 20th overall to accomplish the feat. Five active players are in the 25,000-point club: Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Tuesday, Nov. 3: The first two point guards taken in NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm -- D’Angelo Russell of the Lakers (No. 2 pick) and Emmanuel Mudiay of the Nuggets (No. 7 pick) -- meet for the first time in the regular season (10:30 p.m., NBA TV). Both 19-year-olds have opened their rookie seasons as starters.
Wednesday, Nov. 4: The Clippers and Warriors renew their rivalry at Oracle Arena in the second game (10:30 p.m.) of ESPN’s doubleheader, which starts with the Cavaliers’ visit to the Knicks (8 p.m.). Thursday, Nov. 5: Rookie NBA coaches Billy Donovan of the Thunder and Fred Hoiberg of the Bulls match wits in Chicago (8 p.m., TNT). Friday, Nov. 6: Two veteran point guards settling in with new teams -- Houston’s Ty Lawson and Sacramento’s Rajon Rondo -- square off as the Rockets visit the Kings (10:30 p.m., ESPN). Saturday, Nov. 7: Stephen Curry leads the Warriors into Sacramento to play a Kings team that includes his younger brother, Seth (10 p.m., NBA LEAGUE PASS). The Curry brothers have never faced each other in the NBA. … The Rockets and Clippers meet for the first time since Houston’s dramatic victory in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals (10:30 p.m., NBA LEAGUE PASS).
Sunday, Nov. 8: The Raptors wrap up a four-game road trip and the Heat open a seven-game homestand in Miami (6 p.m., NBA LEAGUE PASS), where Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto take on Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade of the Heat in an intriguing backcourt matchup. Sunday’s victory against the Celtics made the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker the winningest trio in NBA history. The three players have 541 victories together, one more than Boston’s Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Duncan on Sunday became the 14th player to reach 26,000 career points. Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the only teammates in NBA history to score at least 40 points in the same game multiple times, according to Elias. Durant (43 points) and Westbrook (48 points) did it for the third time in Friday’s 139-136 double-overtime victory at Orlando.
Blake Griffin has scored 96 points during the Clippers’ 3-0 start, the second-highest total for a player through three games in franchise history, per Elias. World B. Free scored 105 points in the first three games of the 1979-80 season, when the team played in San Diego. Rick Carlisle and Dwane Casey both won Sunday to become the winningest coaches all time for Dallas and Toronto, respectively. Carlisle passed Don Nelson with his 340th victory with the Mavericks. Casey moved ahead of Sam Mitchell with his 157th win with the Raptors, who are off to a 3-0 start this season. Jeff Ayres (Idaho Stampede), Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks) and Perry Jones III (Iowa Energy) were the first three players selected Saturday in the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. Click here for the complete list of selections. The NBA D-League tips off its 15th season Nov. 12. New York's Carmelo Anthony needs three points for 21,000 in his career. He ranks 33rd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Chris Bosh, Heat forward: “Each day that you’re healthy, each day that you have a chance to do things that you really love, especially if you’re living out your dream, that’s a good day.” Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports: “As great as [Stephen] Curry was last year, and as much as he's shown us during his rise from stud shooter to sport-changing legend, it looks like he's reached an even higher level. ... With each passing night -- and every jaw-dropping, highlight-filled, record-setting performance -- it becomes ever clearer that the imprint Stephen Curry's leaving on the game is indelible and undeniable. ” Madalyn Mendoza, mySA.com: “The heart of the Spurs family shined through last week as the entire team quietly paid a visit to the Wounded Warriors Family Support Center at Brooke Army Medical Center for lunch, conversation and basketball.” Paul Coro, Arizona Republic: “Few players have been so giving with their money, notoriety, resources and time as [two-time NBA MVP Steve] Nash. … Most of Nash’s philanthropy and community work is done out of sight. What defines his connection to those he helps is how he talks comfortably to ill children. His interest and concern makes each interaction feel special.”