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Warriors' streak hits 15

 
Warriors guard Stephen Curry overcomes pressure from Devin Harris of the Mavericks to score a game-high 29.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry overcomes pressure from Devin Harris of the Mavericks to score a game-high 29.
Published Dec. 14, 2014

DALLAS — Stephen Curry thought about protecting his ankles. Golden State coach Steve Kerr screamed for a timeout.

The object of their preoccupation? Marreese Speights' wayward shoe.

In a game with a weird footnote, the Warriors won their franchise-record 15th in row Saturday as Curry scored 29 in a 105-98 victory over the Mavericks.

"It was a bizarre sequence," said Kerr, who at 20-2 is off to the fastest start ever for a first-year coach.

After Speights lost his shoe making a move in the third quarter, the sneaker of the St. Petersburg native and former Gator was thrown toward midcourt to get it out of the way as the possession continued.

When the teams headed back the other way, Curry picked up the loose shoe and tried to toss it to Speights. But Mavericks center Tyson Chandler swatted the sneaker in midair, knocking it near the sideline and prompting Curry to gesture toward an official.

The blocked shoe drew the biggest roar from an otherwise quiet crowd.

"When I was on the wing, and I saw the shoe, and I immediately thought about my ankles, so I thought, 'I got to pick that up before I try to make that move,' " Curry said.

Chandler said his move was purely tactical, not motivational for a team that fell behind by 21 in the first quarter and 28 in the second before getting within seven points in the final minute of the game.

"You can't run with a sock on," said Chandler, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double double.

Chandler was pretty sure there wasn't a rule against the swat, and Kerr was pretty sure he was ready for that to change.

"A shoe rule!" he said, laughing. "Like the Larry Bird exception. The Tyson Chandler rule. No deflecting shoes!"

Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 23 for Dallas, approved of the move.

"That was probably the best defensive play of the night," he said.

Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 17 in the first half, and Thompson finished with 25 as the Warriors became the 12th team in league history to open a season 20-2.

Monta Ellis scored 24 to lead the Mavericks, who played without former Gator Chandler Parsons because of a sore back. Dallas dropped to 0-5 against the top seven teams in the Western Conference.

Magic clips Hawks with buzzer-beater

ORLANDO — Tobias Harris got a leaning, 13-foot jumper to rattle in at the buzzer, giving the Magic a 100-99 victory that snapped the Hawks' nine-game winning streak.

Harris finished with 20, Evan Fournier added 19 and Nik Vucevic 18. Orlando took the second game of the back-to-back after Atlanta's victory at home on Friday. The game was tight throughout, featuring 10 ties and 15 lead changes. The Magic had 10 first-quarter turnovers, but just five the rest of the game.

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Jeff Teague scored 24, leading six Hawks in double figures. Former Gator Al Horford added 18 and Kyle Korver 11.

KOBE 8 AWAY FROM M.J.: Kobe Bryant scored 22 and the Lakers beat the host Spurs 112-110 late Friday. Bryant needed 30 to tie Michael Jordan for third place on the career scoring list but will have to wait until today in Minnesota to possibly surpass the Hall of Famer. Jordan scored 32,292 points, while Bryant has 32,284 after Friday's game. Once Bryant, 36, passes Jordan, only Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) will be above him on the career list. "It's a huge honor to be here in this position," Bryant said this week. Bryant stays in regular contact with Jordan, the owner of the Hornets. "I think we're both cursed with the obsession of trying to be the best that we can," Bryant said.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Clippers forward Matt Barnes was fined $25,000 for kicking a water bottle into the stands and directing profanities at fans Friday night at Washington. … Knicks guard Iman Shumpert has a dislocated left shoulder and could miss at least three weeks. The Knicks also said an MRI exam on guard J.R. Smith's left foot revealed a small tear of the plantar fascia and he is questionable for today's game against Toronto. … Pelicans forward Anthony Davis is listed as questionable for tonight's game against Golden State because of a chest contusion he sustained Friday against Cleveland. Davis' injury is believed to have been caused by a collision with another player's elbow.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Joe Johnson scored 22, Deron Williams and Mason Plumlee had double doubles and the visiting Nets beat the Hornets 114-87. Williams had 18 points and 10 assists, and Plumlee had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets. … LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Damian Lillard added 18 points and the Trail Blazers finished their five-game road trip with a 95-85 win over the Pacers. C.J. Watson scored 23 and Rodney Stuckey added 14 for the Pacers, who have lost eight straight.

Warriors 105, Mavericks 98

GOLDEN STATE (105): Green 5-8 8-10 20, Barnes 6-11 0-0 12, Ezeli 1-2 2-2 4, Curry 9-22 8-9 29, Thompson 10-21 0-0 25, Iguodala 1-6 0-0 2, Livingston 3-6 3-6 9, Speights 2-7 0-0 4, Rush 0-0 0-0 0, Kuzmic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-83 21-27 105.

DALLAS (98): Jefferson 5-8 1-4 13, Nowitzki 11-20 1-2 23, Chandler 3-6 5-8 11, Nelson 2-7 2-2 6, Ellis 8-22 6-7 24, Crowder 1-6 0-0 2, Harris 2-7 1-1 6, Wright 2-3 3-3 7, Barea 2-7 2-3 6, Aminu 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-89 21-30 98.

Golden State 39 27 21 18— 105

Dallas 18 26 24 30— 98

3-Point GoalsGolden State 10-32 (Thompson 5-11, Curry 3-11, Green 2-4, Barnes 0-2, Iguodala 0-4), Dallas 5-25 (Jefferson 2-4, Ellis 2-8, Harris 1-1, Aminu 0-3, Crowder 0-3, Nelson 0-3, Barea 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsGolden State 53 (Barnes 9), Dallas 61 (Jefferson 13). AssistsGolden State 21 (Curry 8), Dallas 14 (Ellis, Nelson 5). Total FoulsGolden State 24, Dallas 23. TechnicalsDallas Coach Carlisle. A20,317 (19,200).

Trail Blazers 95, Pacers 85

PORTLAND (95): Batum 6-11 1-1 14, Aldridge 8-23 2-2 19, Lopez 4-4 0-0 8, Lillard 7-22 4-4 18, Matthews 4-11 2-3 12, Blake 3-5 1-1 8, Kaman 5-11 0-1 10, Crabbe 1-1 0-0 2, Freeland 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 40-90 10-12 95.

INDIANA (85): S.Hill 4-13 0-0 8, West 6-13 0-0 12, Hibbert 4-11 2-2 10, Watson 8-11 3-3 23, Stuckey 6-19 2-4 14, Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Copeland 0-1 0-0 0, Sloan 2-10 2-2 6, Scola 3-5 4-5 10, Rudez 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-88 13-16 85.

Portland 22 36 24 13— 95

Indiana 23 15 28 19— 85

3-Point GoalsPortland 5-17 (Matthews 2-6, Aldridge 1-1, Blake 1-2, Batum 1-5, Lillard 0-3), Indiana 4-15 (Watson 4-5, West 0-1, Copeland 0-1, Rudez 0-1, Stuckey 0-2, S.Hill 0-2, Sloan 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsPortland 53 (Aldridge 14), Indiana 56 (Stuckey 14). AssistsPortland 21 (Blake 7), Indiana 16 (West 6). Total FoulsPortland 21, Indiana 18. A17,206 (18,165).

Nets 114, Hornets 87

BROOKLYN (114): Johnson 9-16 0-0 22, C.Jefferson 5-5 1-1 11, Plumlee 5-8 1-6 11, D.Williams 4-11 7-7 18, Karasev 1-3 0-0 3, Anderson 6-7 1-1 17, Bogdanovic 4-6 0-0 12, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Davies 2-5 0-0 4, Jack 5-9 4-4 14, Morris 1-2 0-1 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-72 14-20 114.

CHARLOTTE (87): Henderson 2-2 2-2 6, Zeller 0-2 1-2 1, A.Jefferson 4-10 0-0 8, Walker 3-11 4-4 11, Stephenson 5-13 0-1 11, Kidd-Gilchrist 5-13 5-6 15, M.Williams 1-4 2-2 5, Biyombo 1-2 2-8 4, Roberts 5-7 1-2 14, Neal 4-8 0-0 9, Hairston 0-5 0-0 0, Pargo 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 31-79 17-27 87.

Brooklyn 32 20 33 29— 114

Charlotte 17 25 17 28— 87

3-Point GoalsBrooklyn 16-23 (Anderson 4-5, Bogdanovic 4-5, Johnson 4-6, D.Williams 3-4, Karasev 1-2, Davies 0-1), Charlotte 8-22 (Roberts 3-4, Pargo 1-2, Stephenson 1-2, Neal 1-3, Walker 1-4, M.Williams 1-4, Hairston 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsBrooklyn 51 (Plumlee 13), Charlotte 43 (Biyombo 10). AssistsBrooklyn 29 (D.Williams 10), Charlotte 16 (Walker 4). Total FoulsBrooklyn 24, Charlotte 19. A17,113 (19,077).

Magic 100, Hawks 99

ATLANTA (99): Carroll 2-8 2-2 7, Millsap 3-12 3-4 9, Horford 9-15 0-0 18, Teague 8-18 6-8 24, Korver 2-5 6-6 11, Brand 0-1 0-0 0, Sefolosha 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 3-7 2-2 10, Schroder 4-13 2-2 10, Bazemore 4-5 0-0 10. Totals 35-84 21-24 99.

ORLANDO (100): Harris 7-16 6-10 20, Frye 3-7 0-0 9, Vucevic 9-13 0-0 18, Oladipo 5-9 2-2 15, Fournier 7-14 4-4 19, Dedmon 1-2 0-0 2, O'Quinn 0-2 0-0 0, B.Gordon 3-4 3-3 12, Payton 2-7 1-2 5. Totals 37-74 16-21 100.

Atlanta 23 25 24 27— 99

Orlando 18 29 25 28— 100

3-Point GoalsAtlanta 8-27 (Bazemore 2-3, Teague 2-4, Scott 2-5, Korver 1-4, Carroll 1-5, Schroder 0-3, Millsap 0-3), Orlando 10-21 (B.Gordon 3-3, Oladipo 3-3, Frye 3-6, Fournier 1-5, O'Quinn 0-1, Harris 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsAtlanta 51 (Millsap 10), Orlando 43 (Vucevic 11). AssistsAtlanta 24 (Teague 8), Orlando 26 (Payton, Oladipo 7). Total FoulsAtlanta 19, Orlando 15. TechnicalsSchroder, Fournier. A15,939 (18,500).