Curry hits 60 but Warriors fall in Atlanta, Lakers beat Knicks

Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks attempts a shot against Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter of an NBA game at State Farm Arena on Feb. 3, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (AFP)
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Updated 04 February 2024
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Curry hits 60 but Warriors fall in Atlanta, Lakers beat Knicks

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 48 points to power Milwaukee Bucks over hosts Dallas 129-117
  • Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox scored 41 points to lead the Kings over hosts Chicago 123-115

NEW YORK: Stephen Curry scored 60 points in a losing cause on Saturday as Dejounte Murray rescued the Atlanta Hawks in overtime for a 141-134 NBA triumph over Golden State.

Four-time NBA champion Curry made 22 of 38 shots from the floor, 10 of 23 from three-point range, and added six rebounds and four assists for the injury-hit Warriors.

“Steph was incredible,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “What a performance. I just feel so bad for him and for our guys because they are battling... Steph was sublime.”

Curry was one shy of matching the NBA record for three-point attempts in a game and the 35-year-old guard joined the late Kobe Bryant as the only players over 35 to score 60 or more in an NBA game.

In another key game, LeBron James scored 24 points and Austin Reaves added 22 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 113-105 victory at New York, snapping the Knicks’ nine-game win streak.

The Lakers outscored New York 33-19 in the fourth quarter to spoil a 36-point performance by Jalen Brunson.

“We just turned up our defensive intensity,” James said of the late heroics. “We was really on point and on time with our doubles, with our hits, with our rotations.

“Jalen is playing at more than an All-Star level this year, so we know he’s the head of the snake. We just tried to wear him down in the fourth quarter, keep him on multiple bodies, keep changing up defenses and I think that helped out a lot.”

In Atlanta, Curry scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and eight more in overtime and looked to have given Golden State the victory on a jumper for a 123-121 lead with 14 seconds remaining in regulation time.

But Murray answered from 14 feet with 4.1 seconds to play to force overtime, then scored seven consecutive points in the Hawks’ 11-0 run to open the extra session and secure the triumph.

“I’m just glad our team got the win,” Atlanta guard Trae Young said. “Steph was going in that second half. He got up to 50, wherever he was going, and in overtime we got a few more stops, got some rebounds and made a few more plays.”

Curry, whose career high is 62 points from a January 2021 win at Portland, took off his jersey after the game, autographed it and gave it to actress Lindsay Lohan.

Young led Atlanta with 35 points while Murray finished with 19 points. Jalen Johnson had 21 points and 13 rebounds while Onyeka Okongwu had 22 points and 16 rebounds off the bench.

Young praised Murray’s clutch effort down the stretch.

“That’s what we need from him,” Young said of Murray. “We need him to be aggressive. He brings a lot to our team. He has a lot of talent. We can’t win without him scoring and getting everybody involved.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 48 points to power the Milwaukee Bucks over hosts Dallas 129-117.

Damian Lillard added 30 points for Milwaukee while Luka Doncic had 40 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in a losing cause.

Milwaukee’s victory secured the Eastern Conference All-Star coaching spot for Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who replaced Adrian Griffin as the team’s coach only eight days ago.

Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla, whose Celtics have a better record, is not eligible for the All-Star spot because he had the job last season.

The Philadelphia 76ers, playing without reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid due to a right knee injury, suffered their fifth loss in six games, falling 136-121 at home to the Brooklyn Nets.

Cam Thomas scored 40 points to lead Brooklyn, who also got 23 points from Mikal Bridges.

Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox scored 41 points to lead the Kings over hosts Chicago 123-115.

Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Sacramento while Malik Monk added 22 off the bench.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points while Evan Mobley added 28 to spark the Cavaliers’ 117-101 triumph at San Antonio.

French rookie star Victor Wembanyama scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Spurs.


UFC Fight Night: Manel Kape TKOs Brandon Royval, wants title shot

Updated 3 sec ago
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UFC Fight Night: Manel Kape TKOs Brandon Royval, wants title shot

  • Kape kept his messaging simple: it’s a title shot or bust next year as he targets newly crowned champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA)
The final UFC event of the year may have ignited a new UFC flyweight contender in Manel Kape. Kape kept his newfound momentum afloat in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, finishing former title challenger Brandon Royval with a right hook, followed by a flurry of punches at 3:18 in Round 1.
Kape kept his messaging simple: it’s a title shot or bust next year as he targets newly crowned champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA).
“Let’s fight in Houston in February, or wherever you want,” Kape said after the fight. “Just sign the contract.”
Kape (22-7 MMA) continued his winning ways with his third straight triumph, while Royval (17-9 MMA) has lost two straight while being two days shy of his two-year anniversary to his lone UFC title fight opposite then-champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA).
In the co-headliner, featherweight Kevin Vallejos landed a brutal second-round spinning back fist to send Giga Chikadze to the canvas that eventually resulted in a TKO stoppage at 1:29. Vallejos (17-1 MMA) ran his UFC record to 3-0, while Chikadze (15-6 MMA) has lost three in a row.
The card moved along with middleweight Cezary Oleksiejczuk winning a unanimous decision against Cesar Almeida, taking all three cards by a 30-27 score. Oleksiejczuk (17-3 MMA) has won five in a row, making good on his promotional debut. Contrary to a one-sided performance, Almeida (7-2 MMA) had a two-fight winning streak halted, marking his first loss under the UFC banner.
The card’s momentum began to pick up with a devastating knockout from featherweight Melquizael Costa via a head-kick finish against Morgan Charriere 1:14 into the opening round. Costa (25-7 MMA) extended his winning streak to five, winning four of those fights during the calendar year. Charriere (21-12-1 MMA) had never been knocked out and has lost three of his last five appearances.
The next fight also saw the judges get involved after a well-rounded three- round affair between heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu and Marcus Buchecha. Unfortunately for both men, after 15 minutes, a winner wasn’t declared as the judges ruled the bout a 28-28 majority draw. Nzechukwu (14-6-1 MMA) had won two of his last three fights, while Buchecha (5-2-1 MMA) is still searching for his first UFC win after having made his debut in July.
UFC Vegas 112 kicked off a six-fight main card that saw King Green win a split decision against Lance Gibson Jr., earning the victory by claiming two of the judges’ scorecards 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. The fight marked the 53rd MMA appearance for Green (33-17-1 MMA) and capped his 12th year in the UFC. Meanwhile, Gibson (9-2 MMA) was making his debut.
The UFC is off before its 2026 schedule begins with UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas with a championship doubleheader at T-Mobile Arena.