Joel Embiid flexed his muscles with arguably the best game of his career, with a season-best 59-point haul in the Philadelphia 76ers' 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Embiid was dominant in every facet, with his 59 points coming on 19-of-28 shooting, making 20-of-24 from the stripe, while having 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks.

The Sixers center is the first player since blocks became official in 1973-74, to record 50-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a game.

Embiid is also the first player since Damian Lillard in 2019 to have more than half of his team's points in a game.

The Cameroonian erupted in the fourth quarter with 26 points, taking him into fifth spot for the best scoring performances in franchise history. It was a career-best points haul for 28-year-old Embiid.

Tyrese Maxey was Philadelphia's next best with 18 points and four steals, with James Harden still out with a foot injury.

The Jazz had no answers to Embiid, who had scored 42 points on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, with Malik Beasley scoring 18 off the bench while Lauri Markkanen had 15 points with 10 rebounds.

Garland briefly holds season-high points haul

Darius Garland piled on 27 fourth-quarter points for a career-high 51 points, but he could not lift the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 129-124.

Garland's 51 points, which included 10 triples, was briefly a league season-high, before Embiid's monster game for the Sixers.

The Timberwolves led by 24 points late in the third before the Cavs rallied, led by Garland, who became the fourth Cleveland player to reach 50 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell added 30 points with 12 assists.

AD lifts Lakers without LeBron to snap skid

Anthony Davis stepped up in LeBron James' absence, scoring 37 points with 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their five-game losing run with a 116-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Davis shot 15-of-25 from the field, while bringing down 10 offensive rebounds among his 18 for the game, with Lonnie Walker adding 25 points, making four-of-five from beyond the arc.

Kevin Durant was a lone hand on offense for the Nets with Seth Curry, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving all absent. Durant scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry hit 27 points as the Golden State Warriors' winless road run (0-7) extended to 0-7 after being downed 122-115 by the Sacramento Kings.

Steve Kerr hailed Steph Curry's "breath-taking" performance in the Golden State Warriors' win over the Sacramento Kings, which evoked memories of Game 4 of the NBA Finals for Draymond Green.

The Warriors were in need of some respite having lost five straight road games, making unwanted history as the first defending champions to start a season 0-6 on their travels in the process.

Curry delivered in some style at the Chase Center, putting up a season-high 47 points from 17-of-24 shooting including making 7-of-12 three-point attempts.

He also had eight assists and as many rebounds, with 17 of his points coming in the fourth quarter.

"Steph was just breath-taking," Warriors coach Kerr said. 

"He's obviously one of the greatest players of all time and he plays so well on so many nights. But this even seemed like something special for him."

For team-mate Green, while the 116-113 victory was not of the same significance as Game 4 of last season's Finals against the Boston Celtics, Curry's performance was reminiscent of his heroics that night.

On that occasion, Curry had 43 points and 10 rebounds to level a series the Warriors would go on to win 4-2.

"It was very Game 4 of the NBA Finals to me. He just wasn't going to allow us to lose," Green said. 

"Take that with a grain of salt because I'm not saying this game was as important. But you know when to get out of the way. It was one of those times where he was taking over."

The Warriors have endured defensive struggles and problems with an unproductive bench in the early stages of a season that sees them own a 4-7 record and sit 12th in the Western Conference.

Each of Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were absent against the New Orleans Pelicans las time out, but played 38, 36, 38, and 40 minutes respectively against the Kings.

Kerr accepted such volume is not viable long term but said it was a case of needs must to get a W on the board.

"It was obviously necessary," Kerr said. "But it's not sustainable. So we know we can't do this for a long time."

For Curry, there is a realisation the Warriors will go through peaks and troughs this season.

"We have to understand that [the young players] are all going to get an opportunity to perform, and there are going to be some struggles – some real high highs, and some real low lows," he said. 

"That's the story of this team. As vets, you understand every year is a little different and you are ready for that challenge. For these young guys to try and find themselves in this league and also a specific role, it's challenging."

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry enjoyed his best game of the new season as he put up 47 points in the Golden State Warriors' 116-113 home win against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

After posting a season-high 39 points his last time out in a loss to the Orlando Magic, Curry went even bigger, hitting 17-of-24 from the field, seven-of-12 from deep and six of his seven free throws.

The former unanimous league MVP also added eight rebounds and eight assists, boasting a plus/minus of plus 20 in his 38 minutes. That means in the 10 minutes he was on the bench, the Warriors were outscored by 17.

With Klay Thompson having an off-shooting night (six-of-18 for 16 points), Andrew Wiggins stepped up as Curry's sidekick, chipping in 25 points (10-of-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds, two steals and a block.

With his seven three-pointers, Curry is now averaging a league-leading 5.1 made threes per game, is fifth in the league in scoring (31.0 points per game) and 15th in assists (6.8 per game).

For the Kings, point guard De'Aaron Fox continued his strong start to the campaign, scoring a team-high 28 points on eight-of-17 shooting to raise his season average to 26.3 (12th in the league).

Doncic extends 30-point streak in Mavs win

Luka Doncic has now scored at least 30 points in each of the Dallas Mavericks' first nine games after putting up 36 in his side's 96-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Doncic was incredibly efficient, particularly from long range, hitting 11-of-22 from the field and five-of-nine from long range. For the season, he is shooting a career-high 52.7 per cent from the field, and that is despite a career-worst three-point percentage of 26.2.

He now owns the second-longest streak in NBA history for consecutive 30-point games to start a season, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's streak of 23 games to start the 1962-63 campaign.

Returning from a four-game absence due to swelling in his knee, Ben Simmons came off the bench for the first time in his 282-game career, scoring two points in 16 minutes.

A.J. Griffin highlights impressive rookie performances as he hands the Bucks their first loss

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered their first loss of the season as Atlanta Hawks rookie A.J. Griffin starred off the bench.

Griffin, the 16th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, finished with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while snatching three steals in a strong 31-minute performance.

Meanwhile, Paolo Banchero's ridiculous start to his career continued as he had his second straight 30-point game in the Orlando Magic's 134-127 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Banchero continues to justify his selection as the top pick in the draft, hitting eight-of-16 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. He is averaging 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the first 10 games of his career.

Last year's second overall draft pick, Jalen Green, was terrific for the Rockets, scoring a game-high 34 points (12-of-18 from the field, five-of-11 from long range).

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr referenced last season's late-season turnaround to offer confidence the reigning champions can remedy their slow 3-7 start.

The Warriors have an 0-6 road record this season after five-game losing run ended with Friday's 114-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Klay Thompson described that run as the "road trip from hell".

Golden State are the first defending champion to ever start the next season 0-6 on the road.

Kerr, whose side return to action on Monday at Chase Center against the Sacramento Kings, is bullish they can turn around their slow start, pointing to last season when endured two poor streaks before going on to win the NBA title.

The Warriors lost nine of 11 games in February and March, along with another stretch where they lost eight of nine games, before winning five in a row on the eve of their successful playoffs campaign.

"It's all part of the NBA," Kerr told reporters about their 3-7 start. "A year ago, we lost 9 out of 11 games in March and won the championship a couple of months later

"So there are times in the NBA season when things can go off the rails a little bit. A big part of being a great team, being a solid organisation, is just understanding how to work through that."

He added: "You come off a bad stretch, you watch a bunch of film, figure out what you can do better, coaching staff makes a few adjustments, give players the instructions and the advice an then everybody is all in together and then you bounce back. That's the plan. I'm really confident that we can do that."

Four of the Warriors' five most recent losses were by single figures which Kerr acknowledged offered some positives but remained focused on the detail to reverse their fortunes.

"It's a matter of focusing on why we lost five close games," he said. "You can show some of the positive things that happened during that stretch but then you've really got to lock in on the detail and the small mistakes that are just killers, not boxing out, fouling, all the stuff we've been talking about."

Kerr indicated Jonathan Kuminga will likely earn more on-court time in coming games after a season-high 38 minutes in the Pelicans loss, while he backed former NBA Draft second overall pick James Wiseman but acknowledged his struggles.

"He's got plenty to learn, but he's a willing learner and we're gonna take our time with him, and I have no doubt long-term he's gonna be a really good player," Kerr said about Wiseman.

"I see a really talented young guy who's eager to learn, who's committed to the team, who's overcome an awful lot to get to this point dealing with his injury for over a year."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has asked people to be "more vigilant" with what they say and promote on social media amid Kyrie Irving's NBA expulsion.

Brooklyn Nets point guard Irving has been suspended for five weeks without pay after refusing to apologise for a post franchiser owner Joe Tsai described as being "full of anti-Semitic disinformation".

Though Irving has subsequently issued a belated apology following news of his ban, Warriors boss Kerr still feels there needs to be a wider conversation around the consequences of such language.

"Words matter," he stated. "Words really, really matter. In modern society with social media, the way things can fan across the globe exponentially and get five million hits immediately, every comment matters.

"Everything you say matters. We have to be more vigilant as a society. We can't be just accepting comments that are so destructive and insulting to people.

"It's crucial that everybody, whether you're a professional athlete or not, it's crucial that everybody thinks before they just throw stuff out there that can be so damaging."

Irving is set to miss away trips to the Wizards, the Hornets, the Mavericks and the Clippers plus a lone home match versus the Knicks before he is considered for a return to the roster.

The Warriors next face the Pelicans after a narrow 130-129 loss to the Magic.

Stephen Curry's 39 points were not enough to prevent the Golden State Warriors from slumping to their fourth straight defeat as Jalen Suggs lifted the Orlando Magic to a 130-129 victory on Thursday.

The reigning champions, who led by 16 points at one stage, had gone into the final minute with scores tied but Suggs drained a three-pointer, followed by making a steal, sinking one of two free-throws to make it to a two-score game.

Suggs finished the game with 26 points with nine assists, while rookie Pablo Banchero contributed 22 points with eight rebounds.

Curry scored 39 points on eight-of-15 three-point shooting with nine assists for Golden State. Klay Thompson found form with seven triples in his 27-point haul.

The Magic scored 33-of-46 points from the free-throw line, compared to Golden State's 10-of-15.

The result means the Warriors fall to 3-6, having lost three of their past four games to sides who missed last year's playoffs. Golden State are also 0-5 on the road.

Jokic records another triple-double

Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic's third triple double of the season and 79th of his career helped the Denver Nuggets to a 122-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jokic scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and 13 assists as Jamal Murray contributed 24 points including four three-pointers for Denver who improve to 5-3.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points but only four in the final quarter when OC went seven-for-22.

The Brooklyn Nets started life after Steve Nash with a 108-99 defeat to the Miami Heat as under-fire Kyrie Irving struggled with four points on two-of-12 shooting on Tuesday.

The Nets announced earlier on Tuesday that Nash had been fired following their 2-5 start to the season, with assistant coach Jacque Vaughn taking charge in his absence.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points with nine rebounds for the Nets who led 58-52 at half-time before the Bulls charged home in the fourth quarter, led by Zach LaVine who had 20 of his 29 points in the final period.

LaVine top scored for the Bulls, including five-of-11 three-point shooting with four rebounds and five assists, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and center Nikola Vucevic hauled down 15 rebounds.

Irving, who has faced widespread backlash for sharing a film on social media with alleged anti-Semitic connotations, battled throughout with three turnovers while making none of his six three-point attempts.

The win improved the Bulls to 4-4, while the Nets fall to 2-6, with a 2-4 record at Barclays Center this season.

Golden State's road struggles continue

Reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors, slumped to their third straight defeat as Jimmy Butler fired late to lift the Miami Heat to a 116-109 win.

Butler, who finished with 23 points with six rebounds and eight assists, scored five straight points down the stretch to give the Heat the lead which they never surrendered.

Kyle Lowry moved past Jason Kidd into 12th on the all-time NBA three-pointers made list, scoring three triples in his 13 points.

Stephen Curry recorded his 10th regular-season triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, but he could not prevent the Warriors' road woes (0-4) continuing, dropped to 3-5 overall.

Johnson shines as Suns burn

Cam Johnson drained seven three-pointers as the Phoenix Suns maintained their perfect home record this season and moved to 6-1 overall with a 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Johnson finished with 29 points, 21 coming from beyond the arc on seven-of-11 three-point shooting, while Devin Booker took a back seat with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Chris Paul had 14 points, 12 assists and a team-high eight rebounds for the Suns who clinched their fifth straight win. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards both had 24 points for the Timberwolves.

Steve Kerr feels the Golden State Warriors look like they are playing "a pick-up game" rather than NBA-level basketball right now after their latest loss to the Detroit Pistons.

The Warriors went down 128-114 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, taking them to four losses for the season and leaving them mired in the lower half of the Western Conference.

With 38 free throws conceded, Golden State were also outscored by fast break and second-chance points throughout the encounter, slumped to a third loss in four games.

Kerr feels his side's struggles are self-inflicted, stressing the importance of being more disciplined.

"I always talk about the game being connected," he told reporters. "It just feels like we're putting ourselves in tough spots offensively.

"Then that translates to defense, and then we're late in either in transition or on rotations, and we just can't stop fouling.

"[There were] 38 more free throws tonight. We talk about it every day, but something has to click with our guys.

"I don't think they're all just blatant hacks. I think the way we're playing is affecting our defense. I think it looks like a pick-up game out there."

Kerr believes that if the Warriors can bring purpose and grit back into their performances., they will be able to turn their fortunes around.

"Until we do, then we're going to be experiencing games like this where [we] just never quite get the traction you need to build momentum," he added.

The Los Angeles Lakers ended their winless start to the season to move to a 1-5 record with a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

LeBron James scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds and eight assists, while Anthony Davis excelled with 23 points and 15 rebounds, although he appeared to nurse a back injury late.

Russell Westbrook was solid again off the bench, adding 18 points on 50 per cent shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists. Westbrook scored four points in the final two minutes to see off any Nuggets' challenge.

The Lakers improved their three-point shooting, making 13-of-30 attempts at 43.3 per cent, while they also scored 48 points in the paint, taking advantage of the defensive limitations of the Nuggets' two-time MVP-winning center Nikola Jokic.

Jokic recorded a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds while Jamal Murray, who missed the 2021-22 campaign with a ruptured ACL, had his best scoring game of the season with 21 points.

The win ends the Lakers' five-game losing run to start the season. For Denver, the defeat means they are 1-3 on the road this season and 4-3 overall.

Warriors beaten by struggling Pistons

The Golden State Warriors had defensive issues again as they suffered back-to-back losses and fell to a 3-4 record after a 128-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons, who ended their own five-game losing run.

Last year's top NBA Draft selection Cade Cunningham was an assist short of a triple-double, contributing 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Pistons dominated after quarter-time.

Stephen Curry scored 32 points on 10-of-24 shooting, while Jordan Poole added 30 with Klay Thompson rested. The Warriors, who have given up 120-or-more points in five of their past six games, only made 12-of-39 three-point attempts (31 per cent).

Doncic matches rare Jordan feat

Luka Doncic became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1986 to score 30-or-more points in each of the first six games of the season as the Dallas Mavericks won 114-105 over the Orlando Magic.

The Slovenian point guard shot 17-of-26 from the field for 44 points with three rebounds and five assists. Doncic scored 30 of his 44 points in the first half.

Top 2022 NBA Draft pick Pablo Banchero failed to reach 20 points for the first time in his career, scoring 18 on six-of-20 shooting for the Magic.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points with 11 rebounds in his annual homecoming that ended in an overtime defeat for the Golden State Warriors, losing 120-113 to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Golden State had led by four points in the final minute of regulation, before P.J. Washington hit a jumper, followed by a Dennis Smith Jr layup to tie the game.

Curry missed a tough three-point attempt to win the game at the end of regulation time, and airballed another shot in overtime. The Warriors point guard finished with three-of-13 from beyond the arc, making 10-of-22 from the field.

The Hornets, who were without LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, were rampant in overtime, with Washington finishing the game with 31 points and Jalen McDaniels draining a crucial triple. Gordon Hayward made a strong contribution with 23 points and four assists.

Golden State shot at 29.5 per cent from three-point range, with Klay Thompson battling on one-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc in his 11 points.

Jordan Poole made four-of-11 attempts in his 24 points off the bench for the Warriors, who are 0-2 on the road this season and 3-3 overall.

Clutch Embiid lifts 76ers to back-to-back wins

Joel Embiid scored 25 points but none were better than his tiebreaking three-point shot as the Philadelphia 76ers made it back-to-back wins with a 114-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Embiid drained his wide-open three-point shot to put the 76ers up 112-109 with 18.1 seconds remaining in the game as Philadelphia improved to 3-4 after their 1-4 start to the season.

The 76ers center had seven rebounds and four assists, while James Harden contributed 15 points on two-of-13 field shooting with 11 assists, while Tyrese Maxey scored 14 points after posting a career-high 44 on Friday.

Nets woes worsen with Pacers shock

The Brooklyn Nets' defensive woes continued as they fell to a fourth straight loss, going down 125-116 to the Indiana Pacers for whom rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored a career-high 32 points.

The Nets conceded another big score, averaging 124.5 points against during their four-game losing skid, with Kevin Durant contributing 26 points with five rebounds and four blocks.

Kyrie Irving, who has come under fire for appearing to show support to an antisemitic film this week, responded on the court with 35 points including five triples with six assists.

The Golden State Warriors' offense, led by the Splash Brothers, was at its destructive best in Thursday night's 123-110 victory over the Miami Heat.

In a strong four-quarter performance, the Warriors scored between 29 and 32 points in all four periods, led by iconic backcourt duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Curry was the game's top-scorer with 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting, hitting seven of his 14 three-point attempts. 

Thompson also got up 14 three-point attempts as the Warriors – who play at the fastest pace in the league at 111.7 possessions per game – were determined to let it fly from deep.

The second Splash Brother hit five of his 14 attempts, while going one-of-five from two-point range for 19 points of his own. They were supported strongly by Andrew Wiggins, who grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his 18 points (five-of-10 shooting).

For the Heat, Jimmy Butler was terrific on both ends, leading his team with 27 points on an incredibly efficient eight-of-13 from the field (four-of-seven from deep, made all seven free throws), while adding eight assists, six rebounds and six steals.

The win means the defending champions are 3-2 through their first five games, while Miami fell to 2-4.

The Baniac delivers again

Memphis Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane is in a rich vein of form, and he led the way with 31 points in a 125-110 win against the Sacramento Kings.

It is the second consecutive game Bane has top-scored for the Grizzlies in a win, after dropping 38 to tie with teammate Ja Morant and set a new franchise record for points by a duo (76) in their victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Against the Kings, Bane stayed red-hot as he made 11-of-18 field goal attempts, including six-of-eight from long range in a true sharpshooter's performance.

One of the best shooters in the entire NBA, Bane now boasts a career three-point percentage of 43.3 per cent on 5.6 attempts per game.

Thunder collect another win over the Clippers

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in the past three days with a 118-110 triumph.

Los Angeles were missing stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George when they rolled into Oklahoma City for a two-game road trip, and were still without Leonard as George returned to the lineup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points on 10-of-23 shooting) and Luguentz Dort (21 points on nine-of-15) carried the offensive load for the Thunder, while George was much less effective for the Clippers.

George could only muster 10 points on four-of-12 shooting, while center Ivica Zubac grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds with his 12 points. After starting their season with two wins, the Clippers have now lost their past three.

Devin Booker loves and admires Klay Thompson, but that does not excuse him from being competitive after their verbal spar led to the Golden State Warriors guard's ejection from Tuesday's game.

Booker scored 34 points as the Phoenix Suns won 134-105 over the Warriors, with Thompson ejected for the first time in his career during a heated third quarter between two of the top Western Conference contenders at Footprint Center.

Thompson was thrown out of the game after consecutive technical fouls, instigated by a heated exchange with Booker that went on for several minutes.

The pair bumped chests and exchanged words, leading to double technicals for both players, but Thompson boiled over during an ensuing timeout and was thrown out after yelling at the officials, despite being restrained by Stephen Curry and assistant coach Chris DeMarco.

"I love Klay Thompson," Booker told ESPN during his on-court interview after the game. "I have from the beginning, from the draft coming out, I said I wanted to be Klay Thompson.

"But that doesn’t excuse us from competing against each other and talking a little mess with each other. I had fun with it. I'm a big fan of his and his competitive nature and that's that."

When asked at the press conference what Thompson said to Booker, he said: "They have four rings. Repeated over and over. And they do."

Thompson managed only two points on one-of-eight shooting, with that frustration boiling over, while Booker kept his composure to an extent. The Warriors guard was still shouting at the Suns bench as he was walked out following his ejection.

"He was having a tough night," Booker said. "I think everything plays into his frustration. I've been there before.

"You know what they have, they've got the four rings, they're going to use that in all the trash talk, rightfully so, respectfully. But that doesn't have anything to do with competing.

"I've always admired his game, how he plays on both sides of the ball and obviously the rings speak for themselves. Like I said, I'm going to bring it every time."

Thompson's ejection comes amid a sluggish start to the season for the five-time All-Star shooting guard, averaging 14.0 points on 40.5 per cent shooting from the field, while he has made eight-of-28 three-point attempts at 34.8 per cent.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr understood Thompson's frustration but tried to offer some perspective to his frustrated four-time NBA champion.

"One thing I will remind Klay on, he's had plenty of slow starts in his career," Kerr said. "I remember several years ago where he really struggled for the three-point line in his first four or five games.

"Klay cares so much about the game, his own impact on our team. He wants it so badly and he's trying to force everything right now. He's trying too hard. I'll remind him of that."

Devin Booker continued his prolific start to the season as the Phoenix Suns flexed their offensive muscle with a 134-105 win over Western Conference rivals Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Booker, who turns 26 on Sunday, became the first player in franchise history to have three 30-point games in the first four of a season, finishing with 34 on 10-of-19 shooting from the field with seven assists and three steals.

Deandre Ayton added 16 points with 14 rebounds, including 11 in the first half, while Chris Paul had 16 points with seven rebounds and nine assists.

The Suns, who improved to 3-1, shot at 41 per cent from the field, making 12-of-29 three-pointers, with Paul draining four-of-five from beyond the arc. Phoenix outscored the Warriors 62-39 in the second half.

The reigning champions, who moved to 2-2, continued their worrying defensive start to the season, having conceded 109 or more points in all four of their games this season, averaging 124 points against per game.

Stephen Curry managed 21 points to end his 30-point run to start the season, shooting seven-of-17 from the field and four triples.

Jordan Poole was productive off the bench with 17 points, including 14 in the first half. Klay Thompson was ordinary again with two points, shooting none-of-five from three-point range.

Pels triumph over Doncic's Mavs despite key outs

The New Orleans Pelicans overcame the absence of Zion Williamson (hip) and Brandon Ingram (concussion) along with a Luka Doncic masterclass to win 113-111 over the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic scored 37 points on 16-of-30 shooting, with 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Mavs, but the undermanned Pels triumphed, led by Trey Murphy with a team-high 22 points with 100 per cent shooting. 

C.J. McCollum struggled to find his range, shooting six-of-20 for 14 points but eight Pels players reached double-figure scoring as they improved to 3-1 to start the season. 

Doncic became the first Mav to ever open a season with three straight 30-point games. The Slovenian is also only the second player in NBA history with 100-plus points, 25-plus rebounds and 20-plus assists through the first three games of a season.

SGA's OKC down short-handed Clippers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander produced a dominant all-round display with 33 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised past the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 108-94.

The Clippers were without former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard due to knee soreness along with seven-time All-Star Paul George with illness, with the defeat seeing them slip to 1-3.

Gilgeous-Alexander went at 50 per cent from the field, making two-of-two from beyond the arc, with five rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals in a masterful display, while Tre Mann scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half.

Stephen Curry led the way as the Golden State Warriors scored a franchise-record 50 second-quarter points in Sunday's 130-125 win over the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center.

The reigning NBA champions were dominant offensively, with their third most points in any half in franchise history as they opened up an 89-71 half-time lead, with Curry scoring 28 in the first half.

The Warriors fell just short of their franchise record of 92 for any half, from 2018 against the Chicago Bulls. It was Golden State's second most points in a first half.

The second quarter was their seventh ever with 50-or-more points, equaling their third most of any period.

Curry finished the game with 33 points, recording his third straight 30-point performance, marking the second time in his career he has done that to start a season. The reigning NBA Finals MVP made seven-of-12 from three-point range, with five of those coming in the second quarter.

The Kings never gave up and cut the margin to four points with 1:04 remaining but Golden State closed it with Andrew Wiggins capping it off with 24 points.

The Warriors shot at 51.7 per cent from the field, along with 42.4 per cent from beyond the arc, making 14-of-33 attempts.

Late Lakers woes prove costly

The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to an 0-3 record after poor late execution saw them lose 106-104 to the Portland Trail Blazers, with four-time MVP LeBron James missing a two-point shot on the buzzer.

The Lakers missed four of their final five shots of the game, after Damian Lillard's triple put the Blazers ahead after trailing by seven points with 1:56 remaining. Lillard finished with a game-high 41 points.

James finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Anthony Davis added 22 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, but the Lakers' late execution and three-point shooting cost them, going at 18.2 per cent from beyond the arc as a team.

Russell Westbrook contributed 10 points on four-of-15 shooting with six rebounds and six assists but was benched with 12 seconds remaining with the game up for grabs.

CP3 joins elite assists club

Chris Paul became the third player in NBA history to reach 11,000 assists, providing 11 in the Phoenix Suns' 112-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Devin Booker top scored with 35 points with 13-of-21 shooting from the field and five-of-nine from beyond the arc as the Suns led from wire to wire.

Paul brought up his 11,000th assist with his second of the game, an alley-oop pass for Deandre Ayton, joining John Stockton and Jason Kidd in the elite club.

Kawhi Leonard started on the bench again for the Clippers, playing 21 minutes for 11 points with six rebounds and two assists.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr feels nobody has figured out the correct answer for how to defend reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic after the Denver Nuggets left Chase Center with a 128-123 upset win on Friday night.

With the Nuggets' second-best player Jamal Murray sitting out the game as part of his recovery plan from a long-term injury, Denver's fate was left in the hands of Jokic, and he delivered once again.

Jokic posted a triple-double in the win, finishing with 26 points (seven-of-13 shooting), 12 rebounds and 10 assists in his 34 minutes.

The Nuggets led by 10 points with just 74 seconds remaining, but a Warriors flurry saw them cut the lead to 124-123 after a steal in the backcourt gave Jordan Poole an easy layup with 14 seconds on the clock.

But Jokic steadied the ship, immediately heaving a full-court pass to Bruce Brown for an uncontested dunk to avoid having to sweat through a pair of free throws, before the big Serbian went to the line to close the game out himself, hitting both foul shots to finish 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.

When asked after the game if the seven-foot maestro is the Warriors' kryptonite, Kerr said he does not know how anyone would slow him down.

"He’s everybody’s kryptonite,” he said. "He’s a two-time MVP for a reason. The guy is a phenomenal player, and he just makes the game so much easier on his teammates.

"They've done a really good job in Denver the past few years, building their roster, building their identity. But yeah, Jokic is Jokic. I don't know if any other team gives him a hard time."

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone echoed the sentiment, saying at this point the only advice he can give the 27-year-old is about being a vocal leader.

"My biggest challenge for Nikola is always finding a way to use his voice and be a leader," he said. 

"This is his team. He’s a great player, and what makes him great is he makes every one of those guys better. 

"That chemistry is only going to continue to get better and better as the season goes along – but tonight was a great example of what it has potential to be."

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