Stephen Curry was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece before Jordan Poole scored a last-second layup as the Golden State Warriors narrowly beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120 on Wednesday.
Curry was ejected with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Warriors up by two for unsportsmanlike conduct, having thrown his mouthpiece in frustration after Poole opted not to pass to him, before missing a three-point attempt.
But Golden State kept their composure without their NBA Finals MVP, with Klay Thompson draining a clutch three-pointer with 14.1 seconds left, before Ja Morant dished off for a Brandon Clarke dunk to square it up with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Poole got redemption for his role in Curry's ejection, when he got free to land a left-handed layup from Donte DiVincenzo's inbound to decide the game at Chase Center.
Curry finished with 34 points with four-of-eight three-point shooting, while Klay Thompson hit five-of-10 triples in his 24 points.
Draymond Green had 13 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, while Poole added 21 points with seven assists.
Morant posted 29 points for the Grizzlies, making two-of-seven from beyond the arc with 12 assists and two steals. Desmond Bane managed 20 points but went four-of-six from the stripe.
The result lifts the Warriors up to ninth in the Western Conference with a 24-24 record, while the Grizzlies are 31-17 and second in the west.
Simmons booed as 76ers down Nets
Ben Simmons was booed throughout on his return to Wells Fargo Center as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 to clinch their sixth straight win.
James Harden starred against his former side with 23 points, three rebounds and seven assists, making two three-pointers and a driving layup in the final four minutes. Tyrese Maxey added 27 points off the bench and Joel Embiid had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Seth Curry had a season-high 32 points including seven triples, Kyrie Irving added 30 points with 10 assists, while Ben Simmons was scoreless in the first half from only one shot but finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Lillard shoots 60 in Blazers win
Damian Lillard scored 60 points, the second-most by a single player in a game this season, as the Portland Trail Blazers won 134-124 over the Utah Jazz.
Lillard shot nine-of-15 from three-point range including six of those in the first half, recording his fourth career 60-point game, matching Michael Jordan and James Harden for the third most overall.
The Blazers guard scored five triples in the second quarter, which he has done 16 times in any quarter in his career, which is the second most by any player in the last 25 seasons. Jazz power forward Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points with four rebounds.
Sweden 0-3 Belgium: Lukaku hat-trick gets Tedesco tenure off to flying start
Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 win over Sweden on Friday in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.
The Red Devils replaced Roberto Martinez with Tedesco after exiting the World Cup at the group stage, while a number of big names also retired from international football.
Tedesco's tenure got off to a flying start at Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Lukaku's header and a close-range finish either side of half-time had the visitors in control.
Sweden brought on 41-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Lukaku completed his treble in the 82nd minute to round off a comfortable victory.
Dejan Kulusevski almost gave Sweden the lead when his shot trickled towards goal after Thibaut Courtois got a hand to it, only for Wout Faes to clear off the line.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10 minutes before the interval when Dodi Lukebakio's right-sided cross was glanced in by the head of Lukaku.
The on-loan Inter striker doubled his tally with a tap-in from a yard out after Lukebakio burst into the box, got away from his man and once again picked out his team-mate.
Sweden struggled to ask any real questions of Courtois, despite the introduction of Ibrahimovic, and Lukaku made certain of the win when given a simple finish by Johan Bakayoko.
Doncic fined $35,000 for money gesture directed at officials
Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 after making "an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture" towards an official.
With just 1.7 seconds to go of the 127-125 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks star rubbed his fingers together at a referee, appearing to reference money.
One piece of fortune for Doncic was that he was not given a technical foul for the gesture, with the Slovenian just one shy of the 16 required for a one-game suspension.
However, the NBA confirmed on Friday that Doncic will be fined for the incident.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on Twitter after the game that they will protest what he called the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA".
Dallas' objections are based on a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk to make it 90-87 from a Jordan Poole inbound pass with 1:54 left in the third quarter following a Mavericks timeout.
The Mavericks believed they had possession of the ball, and so were not in position for the inbound, with Cuban claiming that was due to a miscommunication by the referees.
March Madness: 'It was like a Rocky fight' says Kansas State star Nowell after breaking assist record
Markquis Nowell said the back-and-forth clash between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Tournament was "like a Rocky fight."
Nowell starred as the Wildcats won 98-93 in overtime, recording 19 assists to break the tournament record for a single game.
The five-foot-eight guard has 64 points, 42 assists and 11 steals in his three outings so far, with the last division one college basketball or NBA player to reach all of those numbers over any three-game span being Allen Iverson in 2005.
"It was like a 'Rocky' fight," Nowell said about the game, which saw 16 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-figure lead.
Nowell's 19 assists were complimented by 20 of his own points, joining Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the last 10 years to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.
And he attributed his success to his team-mates, with the Wildcats setting up an Elite 8 clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.
"We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category," Nowell said. "I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots."
He produced a stunning alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson late in the game, and Johnson heaped praise on Nowell, especially after sustaining an ankle injury during the second half that still did not slow him down.
"He's our starting point guard," he said. "His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back... everybody saw how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him."
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