Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says Klay Thompson's progress on his return from long-term injury is "right on schedule" after top scoring in Tuesday's win over the Detroit Pistons.

Thompson, who endured a 941-day layoff due to Achilles and ACL injuries before returning earlier this month, scored 17 points in the first half before finishing with 21 in his fourth game back.

The 31-year-old three-time NBA champion impressed alongside Stephen Curry (18 points and eight assists) in a sizzling 66-38 first-half in Tuesday's 102-86 win, with Kerr describing it as their "best stretch together" since his return.

"That was probably he best stretch that Steph and Klay have played together," Kerr told reporters. "It was a nice groove in front of our home fans."

Kerr added: "It's good to see him get hot and hear the crowd behind him. He got into a little rhythm. We had a great first half, 20 assists, the ball was moving, Klay was a big part of that."

The former Chicago Bulls guard said that he felt there were signs that Thompson was physically getting close to his best, having played on managed minutes since his return.

"I just think it's rhythm and legs," he said. "When you've been out for a while, the legs are the toughest thing to recover in terms of the force going into the shot and feeling powerful and strong like you do when you're in great shape.

"He's getting his legs underneath him. He's looking better and better. His conditioning has improved. He's right on schedule."

Kerr also brushed aside any concerns about Curry, who sat out the last quarter and appeared inhibited by the hand injury which kept him out of Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I don’t even know. I saw him shaking his hand," Kerr said. "I haven’t heard anything about it so I assume he's fine.

"We had the lead so we didn’t need to put him back in."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says Klay Thompson's progress on his return from long-term injury is "right on schedule" after top scoring in Tuesday's win over the Detroit Pistons.

Thompson, who endured a 941-day layoff due to Achilles and ACL injuries before returning earlier this month, scored 17 points in the first half before finishing with 21 in his fourth game back.

The 31-year-old three-time NBA champion impressed alongside Stephen Curry (18 points and eight assists) in a sizzling 66-38 first-half in Tuesday's 102-86 win, with Kerr describing it as their "best stretch together" since his return.

"That was probably he best stretch that Steph and Klay have played together," Kerr told reporters. "It was a nice groove in front of our home fans."

Kerr added: "It's good to see him get hot and hear the crowd behind him. He got into a little rhythm. We had a great first half, 20 assists, the ball was moving, Klay was a big part of that."

The former Chicago Bulls guard said that he felt there were signs that Thompson was physically getting close to his best, having played on managed minutes since his return.

"I just think it's rhythm and legs," he said. "When you've been out for a while, the legs are the toughest thing to recover in terms of the force going into the shot and feeling powerful and strong like you do when you're in great shape.

"He's getting his legs underneath him. He's looking better and better. His conditioning has improved. He's right on schedule."

Kerr also brushed aside any concerns about Curry, who sat out the last quarter and appeared inhibited by the hand injury which kept him out of Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I don’t even know. I saw him shaking his hand," Kerr said. "I haven’t heard anything about it so I assume he's fine.

"We had the lead so we didn’t need to put him back in."

Stephen Curry returned from a hand injury with 18 points as the Golden State Warriors eased past the struggling Detroit Pistons 102-86 on Tuesday.

The Warriors led 66-38 at half-time with Klay Thompson continuing the progress in his return from long-term injury by top scoring with a season-high 21 points. Thompson had 17 points by half-time.

Thompson was playing his fourth game back after returning earlier this month following a 941-day layoff due to Achilles and ACL injuries.

Curry had four three-pointers among his 18 points along with three rebounds and eight assists, while top 10 pick Jonathan Kuminga started and had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors had lost 119-99 to the Minnesota Timberwolves without Curry on Sunday but improve to 32-12 to be second in the west behind the Phoenix Suns (34-9).

TOWNS LEADS ROAD WIN

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 112-110 road win over the New York Knicks.

Towns had 20 points with five rebounds and three assists, while 2020 NBA Draft first pick Anthony Edwards had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Timberwolves center made a clutch two-pointer to put his side up 110-109 with 29.3 seconds left.

Minnesota won with a 26-19 final quarter, despite Julius Randle's (21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists) big second half for the Knicks with Evan Fournier (27 points, four rebounds and four assists) contributing well.

The Golden State Warriors felt the absence of Steph Curry and Draymond Green as they fell to a 119-99 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

Curry was ruled out with a hand injury and Green missed a fourth straight game with a calf issue as the Warriors lost for a fifth time in their last seven outings.

Jaylen Nowell scored 17 points for the Timberwolves and Malik Beasley added 16, which included five second-half 3-pointers in a one-sided conclusion to the game.

The travel-weary Warriors, playing on the road for a fourth successive time, are now 31-12 for the season and remain second in the Western Conference.

Gobert guides Utah past Denver

Returning from a five-game coronavirus-enforced absence, Rudy Gobert made up for lost time with a double-double in the Utah Jazz's 125-102 win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Jazz had lost four in a row in Gobert's absence, but the center's 18 points and 19 rebounds got his side back on track at the Ball Arena.

Gobert has now recorded 15 straight double-doubles either side of his spell on the sidelines, while Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 21 points.

Nikola Jokic top-scored for the Nuggets with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season – no player has more.

Suns win again, Rockets looking up

The NBA-leading Phoenix Suns won for a sixth time in seven games with a 135-108 victory over the Detroit Pistons, with Devin Booker scoring 30 points.

JaVale McGee added 20 as the Pistons, who had Josh Jackson ejected in the fourth quarter, fell to a fourth defeat since New Year's Day, each of those by at least 27 points.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 118-112 to exact some revenge two days on from losing to the same opponents.

Eric Gordon made a clutch bucket with 12.5 seconds left, adding to Christian Woods' 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets won for a second time in three games.

Stephen Curry was "a little concerned" about a hand injury he sustained in the Golden State Warriors' thrashing of the Chicago Bulls on Friday but declared: "I'll be all right."

Curry fell on his right hand during the Warriors' 138-96 rout of the Bulls at United Center – their 10th consecutive victory over Chicago.

The seven-time NBA All-Star, who scored 19 points, was initially worried about the damage he may have done, but says the pain did not last for long.

He said: "Anything that involves the hands, especially the right one, you're a little concerned. But the feeling came back, the strength came back. It hurts, but I'll be all right."

Curry added: "I have some PTSD from [a hand injury sustained] two years ago. When I landed, it felt kind of the same, but we'll get it looked at and figure it out. Should be all right."

Rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga top-scored with 25 points in 26 minutes for Golden State, with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins finishing with 22 and 21 points respectively.

Klay Thompson was rested as he eases his way back from a long injury lay-off, while Draymond Green could return from a calf injury against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

The Warriors' demolition of Eastern Conference leaders Chicago (27-13) was only their second win in six games and moved them to 31-11, sitting second in the Western Conference behind the 32-9 Phoenix Suns.

The Golden State Warriors showed off their newfound depth and flexed their muscle with a 138-96 rout over the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Three Warriors scored more points than Stephen Curry, who finished with 19 points including four three-pointers in the win without Draymond Green (calf) and Klay Thompson (rest).

Top 10 draft pick Jonathan Kuminga top scored with 25 points, while Jordan Poole added 22 including five triples and Andrew Wiggins contributed 21.

Golden State piled on 78 points in the first half, leading by 31 at the main break and never looked back after the Bulls lost Zach LaVine to a knee injury early in the first quarter.

DeMar DeRozan was kept quiet with 17 points, two rebounds and seven assists, while Nikola Vucevic top scored for the Bulls with 19 points along with 14 rebounds.

Chicago, who were humbled 138-112 by the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, slip to a 27-13 record but remain top of the Eastern Conference.

Suns and Heat continue stellar records

Devin Booker scored 35 points including five three-pointers while Deandre Ayton had 27 points with 12 rebounds as the ladder-leading phoenix Suns won 112-94 over the Indiana Pacers. The Suns are 32-9 at the halfway mark, which is their second-best record in franchise history after 41 games.

Jimmy Butler returned from a three-game absence due to an ankle injury with 23 points, 10 assists and two steals as the Miami Heat rallied late to win 124-118 over the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat improve to 27-15 and sit second in the east.

Joel Embiid had 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as the Philadelphia 76ers got past the Boston Celtics 111-99. Embiid fell five points short of breaking the 76ers franchise record for 30 points or more in nine straight games.

Grizzlies winning run ended

The Memphis Grizzlies' 11-game winning streak came to a halt at the hands of Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 112-85. The Grizzlies struggled from beyond the arc, making seven-of-31 (22.6 percent) from three-point range with Jaren Jackson Jr missing all six of his three-point attempts. Doncic had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Steve Kerr insisted the Golden State Warriors' defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks is not a cause for concern as it is normal for sides to go through difficult spells.

The Warriors were beaten 118-99 by a Giannis Antetokounmpo-inspired Bucks on Thursday to make it four defeats in their past five games.

Despite losing to the Dallas Mavericks, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Bucks, Kerr's side are second in the Western Conference with a 30-11 record.

Without the injured Draymond Green once again, the Warriors showed some fight in the second half to reduce a 39-point deficit to 18, but that was as close as they got to the Bucks.

"I know we just got our butts kicked, but we're just in a rough patch in our season," Kerr said at his media conference. 

"It happens to every team, every year pretty much with very few exceptions. 

"We're in a little bit of a rut and we were playing a team that was ready and played a great first half. We're a little out of sorts. We've just got to get back on track, and we will."

Thursday's clash between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors was already an enticing one, but will arguably now be even more intriguing with two of the NBA's best heading into it on the back of defeats.

Reigning champions Milwaukee sit fourth in the Eastern Conference on 26-17 after back-to-back defeats on the road to the Charlotte Hornets, while the 30-10 Warriors were beaten at the Memphis Grizzlies last time out.

The star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry will be the main attraction, as both usually are wherever they go, sitting fourth (966 points) and second (993 points) respectively in the league for points scored this season.

Golden State, currently second in the Western Conference, will be the favourites on Thursday, and despite their setback in Tennessee on Tuesday, Steve Kerr's men have been boosted by the timely return to action of Klay Thompson.

The 31-year-old tore an anterior cruciate ligament in 2019 before tearing his Achilles tendon during his recovery, but came back in style as he played his first game in over 940 days in style as he shot 17 points from just 20 minutes in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, before managing another 14 in similar court time in Memphis.

Curry will, as ever, be the Warriors go-to man. He managed a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the defeat to the Grizzlies, though surprisingly, hit just two of his nine three-point attempts at FedExForum.

He recently broke the all-time three-point record in the NBA and still leads the league by a distance in successful shots from downtown, with 186 to his name this season, well clear of Buddy Hield (154) and Fred VanVleet (134), having even played six fewer games than Hield.

The Warriors are expected to be without Draymond Green, who played just seven seconds of Sunday's win against the Cavaliers before withdrawing with a calf issue he apparently sustained in the warm-up and then missing the defeat in Memphis.

Green has the highest number of defensive rebounds for the Warriors this season (219) and is 22nd in the league overall.

The Bucks could also still be missing a key player in Jrue Holiday, who was sidelined from Monday's loss to the Hornets with an ankle injury.

Holiday has missed the last three games, but when he has been able to take to the court this season has often shone, averaging 18.4 points per game, including shooting 40 in the December defeat at the New Orleans Pelicans.

Despite Curry so often catching the eye with threes, where Golden State often win games is in the paint and in the restricted area, currently leading the league for highest team field goal percentage in both (60.1 and 64.4). The Bucks are eighth and seventh in the league in the respective areas, with percentages of 56.8 and 61.0.

However, in Antetokounmpo, the Bucks boast a player who leads the league in field goals made in the paint (266) and in the restricted area (228), so if they can get it to the Greek often and in space, he could just beat the Warriors at their own game.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Milwaukee Bucks – Khris Middleton

Middleton is in a solid run of form, which is a good thing for a player who has clustered his best work throughout this season. The 30-year-old began the season by scoring 20 or more points in three of his first four games, before a period out through illness.

He returned and took eight games to manage over 20 points again, before doing so for seven in a row. After missing three more games with a knee issue, Middleton has come back to score 20 or more in eight of his last 10 outings, and will back himself to do so again here.

Middleton got the most points and assists for his team last time out (27 and 11), and is third in the league for most field goals made from the baseline (37) behind only Kevin Durant (64) and DeMar DeRozan (45).

Golden State Warriors – Klay Thompson

Although it was technically a work event, there was a party atmosphere as the Warriors welcomed Thompson back to the court on Sunday against the Cavaliers, and while his numbers were impressive enough for someone who has spent the best part of three years sidelined, it is the less tangible positive vibes his return has brought that could be the difference-maker for Golden State.

Prior to his comeback on Sunday, Thompson boasted a career average of 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, while shooting at 45.9 per cent from the field and 41.9 from three-point range.

He may only get 20 minutes, as he has done in his two games back so far, but his sheer presence on the court could be enough to inspire his team-mates, such is the obvious delight among his fellow Warriors that he is finally fit and playing again.

KEY BATTLE – Rebounds to give Bucks an edge?

Milwaukee leads the Eastern Conference in rebounding, averaging 47.1, while Antetokounmpo boasts the third-highest number of defensive rebounds in the East this season with 325.

Golden State are fourth in the Western Conference for rebounds at 46.1, but as mentioned, look set to be without their stats leader in defensive rebounds in Green. The best offensive rebounders in both teams are Bobby Portis and Kevon Looney, who both have 97 to their name this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This is their first meeting since April 2021, which the Warriors won 122-121, but the Bucks have won four of the previous six games between the two dating back to March 2018.

Stephen Curry recorded his first triple-double since the opening game of the season but the Golden State Warriors went down to the streaking Memphis Grizzlies 116-108.

Ja Morant starred for the Grizzlies with 29 points including five in the final minutes as Memphis extended its winning run to 10 games and improved to 29-14.

Morant, who also had five rebounds and eight assists, spearheaded the Grizzlies' final-quarter 29-18 rally where Tyus Jones hit back-to-back triples to give them a lead they would not surrender.

Curry had 27 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Warriors although he only shot at 38 percent from the field.

Klay Thompson contributed 14 points with three rebounds and three assists in his second game back from long-term injury as the Warriors moved to 30-10.

Bulls pile on the points

The Chicago Bulls had eight players reach double-digit scoring as they hammered the struggling Detroit Pistons 133-87 with DeMar DeRozan starring with 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

The Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 25-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets 87-85. MVP Nikola Jokic (21 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) had a double-double but missed a game-winning three-point attempt on the buzzer.

Chris Paul provided 12 assists to go with his 15 points and five steals as the table-topping Phoenix Suns defeated the Toronto Raptors 99-95.

OKC slump in five-game skid

The Oklahoma City Thunder slumped to their fifth straight loss, going down 122-118 to the Washington Wizards. The result leaves OKC with a 13-27 record in second last in the west.

Chris Paul recorded his first triple-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns' 106-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

Paul finished the game with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the NBA-leading Suns improved to 30-8, while the Clippers slipped below .500 at 19-20 for the first time since they were 3-4 earlier this season, while Phoenix became the first team to reach 30 wins this season as they moved a game ahead of the Golden State Warriors.

The rebounding feats of Paul, playing his 1,128th NBA game, were complimented by the Suns veteran bringing up 41 assists from Phoenix's past three games.

Paul (474) also moved past NBA legend Oscar Robertson into third overall for most games with 10 or more points and 10 or more assists, behind John Stockton (714) and Magic Johnson (543).

Cameron Johnson had a career-high 24 points with seven rebounds for the Suns as Devin Booker went none-of-seven from beyond the arc for his 11 points.

Marcus Morris Sr had 26 points with eight rebounds and three assists for the Clippers who were without Paul George, Nicolas Batum and Kawhi Leonard.

Warriors lose without Curry and Green

The Warriors struggled in the absence of injured All-Star duo Stephen Curry (quad) and Draymond Green (hip), going down 101-96 to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Brandon Ingram scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.

Evan Fournier shot 10 three-pointers as he haunted his former side with 41 points and eight rebounds as the New York Knicks overcame the Boston Celtics 108-105 but it was RJ Barrett who hit a buzzer beater to clinch the win. Jayson Tatum had 36 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

Pistons pumped as Cunningham struggles

The Detroit Pistons were hammered by 30 points in the 118-88 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with no player scoring more than 14 points.

The Pistons hold a 7-30 record this season with only three road victories from 20 games. They shocked the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week but were no match for in-form Memphis, who extended their winning streak to seven.

Top draft pick Cade Cunningham shot five-of-19 for his 12 points.

Stephen Curry is "not optimistic" about being fit for the Golden State Warriors' game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday after suffering a quad contusion.

Warriors superstar Curry did the thigh damage during a 99-82 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

The seven-time NBA All-Star was hobbling in the second half but spent 36 minutes on court as he scored 14 points, took nine rebounds and provided five assists.

Curry is not hopeful over his chances of facing the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.

Asked about his injury, he told reporters: "Yeah, it sucked.

"The way it feels right now, I'm not optimistic [about playing in New Orleans], but we'll see."

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr is prepared for the prospect of being without key man Curry.

Kerr said: "Yeah, there's a chance [Curry will miss out], He got a pretty good quad contusion and those generally get worse overnight.

"With a flight and everything, there's a chance he won't play tomorrow."

The Warriors remain top of the Western Conference on 29-8, a record the Phoenix Suns can also boast.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points upon his return to the Brooklyn Nets side for the first time this season as they came from behind to beat the Indiana Pacers 129-121 and snap a three-game skid on Wednesday.

Irving had been ruled out of the entire regular season by the Nets due to his vaccination status but the franchise changed their stance a fortnight ago, permitting him to play road games.

The 29-year-old point guard played 32 minutes, making nine-of-17 from the field along with three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Irving's return reunited the 'big three' alongside Kevin Durant (39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists) and James Harden (18 points, five rebounds and six assists).

The Pacers had led 73-60 at half-time with a biggest lead of 19 points before Brooklyn rallied with an 8-0 run to end the third quarter, before Patty Mills put them ahead with a fourth-quarter three-pointer.

Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double for the Pacers with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Popovich brings up 2,000th in style

Gregg Popovich coached the San Antonio Spurs for the 2,000th time, recording his 1,325th win in charge as they beat the Boston Celtics 97-95 with Jaylen Brown's lay-up buzzer beater rimming out. Brown scored 30 points with six rebounds, while Dejounte Murray had 22 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists for the Spurs.

Bojan Bogdanovic (36 points, 13 rebounds and four assists) won the battle of the Balkan stars against Nikola Jokic as the Utah Jazz edged the Denver Nuggets 115-109. The reigning MVP was exceptional for the Nugs with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists.

Joel Embiid scored 31 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Orlando Magic 116-106, while Giannis Antetokounmpo was absent with a non-COVID-related illness as the Milwaukee Bucks lost 117-111 to the Toronto Raptors with Pascal Siakam netting 33 points.

Curry goes cold for Warriors

Stephen Curry had an ordinary shooting night, going five-of-24 from the field and one-of-nine from beyond the arc as the Golden State Warriors lost 99-82 to the Dallas Mavericks. Curry finished with 14 points with nine rebounds while Mavs All-Star Luka Doncic had 26 points with seven rebounds and eight assists.

Stephen Curry said the Golden State Warriors' DNA "is built on chasing championships" as he set a new NBA three-pointer record in their hard-earned win over the Utah Jazz.

For the second road game in a row the Warriors produced when it mattered against a Western Conference rival.

Curry broke his own record for consecutive games with a three-pointer.along the way, surpassing the mark he set in 2016 by reaching 158 appearances in a row with at least one successful three. He finished this game with six three-pointers from 12 attempts.

Having defeated the second-placed Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day, Golden State rallied in the fourth quarter to earn a 123-116 triumph over Utah, with Curry putting up 28 points to go alongside nine assists as they moved to 28-7 for the season.

In what was a real team effort, Andrew Wiggins had 25 points, Otto Porter Jr finished with 20 to go with eight assists and seven rebounds, and Andre Iguodala had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds off the bench including nailing a late three-pointer to ensure victory.

Reflecting on another big win, Curry said: "It's a good confidence builder to be in these types of settings on the road and get wins like this and show who we are.

"Our DNA is built on chasing championships, and you've got to win games like we have to get it done."

Wiggins, Iguodala and Porter all came up trumps alongside Curry during a final 10 minutes in which the Warriors missed only two shots.

Curry hailed the impact of his team-mates on the win.

"They're talented, and they're gamers, and they understand they're going to have to play like that for us to do special things this year," he added.

"The opportunity is there. It's just a matter of going through the reps."

The Warriors led by as many as 16 at one stage, but 41 points in the third quarter – the most the Warriors have given up in any quarter this season – helped the Jazz to a 91-86 lead.

But the visitors came back strongly again, scoring on seven consecutive plays in the fourth to regain the initiative.

"They did a great job of moving the ball, of getting up into us defensively and making us uncomfortable and controlled that third quarter," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

"But that requires a lot of energy too. That lead we had at half-time forced them to really get after it in that third quarter, and they did. But I thought we had more energy in the fourth as a result."

The Golden State Warriors stormed home with a strong final quarter led by Stephen Curry to halt the Utah Jazz's winning run with a 123-116 victory on Saturday.

The Warriors fought back from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter with a 37-25 final period, going 13 of 18 from the field.

Curry finished the game with 28 points including six three-pointers with six rebounds and nine assists, while Andrew Wiggins contributed with 25 points.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points with nine assists, Rudy Gobert had 20 points and 19 rebounds while Bojan Bogdanovic netted 20 points including four triples for the Jazz who had won six in a row.

The result improves the Warriors to 28-7 while the Jazz are 26-10 in the Western Conference.

DeRozan does it again

DeMar DeRozan became the first player to hit a game-winning buzzer beater in successive games since 1997-98 as the Chicago Bulls won 120-119 over the Washington Wizards. DeRozan finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Zach LaVine had 35 points for the Bulls. Bradley Beal had 27 points and 17 assists for the Wizards.

Giannis Antetokounmpo started the year with a triple-double as the Milwaukee Bucks claimed their sixth straight win, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 136-113. Antetokounmpo scored 35 points with 16 rebounds and 10 assists.

Nikola Jokic scored 34 points with 11 rebounds and Facundo Campazzo delivered 22 points and 12 assists as the Denver Nuggets won 124-111 over the Houston Rockets.

Nets beaten as stars shooting off

The Brooklyn Nets stars were back together but they were humbled by the depleted Los Angeles Clippers 120-116. Kevin Durant shot 11 of 24 from the field for his 28 points while James Harden went nine of 22 from the field. Harden did have 34 points with 12 rebounds and 13 assists.