Steph upstages Klay

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SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 37 points, including Golden State’s final 12, to rally the Warriors past Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks 120-117 on Tuesday night (Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, PH time) in an NBA Cup game. Thompson finished with 22 points in an emotional return to Chase Center for the first time since he departed to join Dallas in July.

Luka Doncic started and had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists after the team decided his left groin strain was healthy to play once he went through his warmup routine. The Warriors gifted captain hats to fans in a tribute to Thompson’s tradition of taking his boat across the bay to games. Thompson embraced Curry shortly before tipoff and his 3-pointer gave Dallas a 110-105 lead before his old Splash Brother took over.



Curry shot 14 for 27, making five 3s and added nine assists and six rebounds, also sparking a 20-3 burst to begin the third quarter. Dereck Lively II, questionable to play because of a sprained right shoulder, contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks. Dallas committed 18 turnovers leading to 21 Warriors points.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 points off the bench for the Warriors and Buddy Hield had 14. De’Anthony Melton scored 14 in his third straight game in double figures. Coming down in transition moments after blocking Thompson’s 3-pointer, Warriors guard Moses Moody tried to dunk on Thompson at the 9:40 mark of the second quarter only to take a hard foul and settle for a pair of free throws.

Thompson also spent time in the fourth quarter defending his replacement, Hield. Curry fouled Thompson 15 seconds into the game and Thompson scored the initial two points of the contest at the free-throw line. But Thompson missed his initial two field-goal attempts before knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

Bucks 99, Raptors 85 MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Toronto Raptors 99-85 in an NBA Cup game between teams that entered with the two worst records in the league. Bobby Portis added 17 points off the bench for Milwaukee (3-8). Brook Lopez scored 13 points, while AJ Green and Ryan Rollins had 12 apiece.

Gradey Dick paced the Raptors (2-10) with 32 points, a career high for the second-year player. Jakob Poeltl scored 13 points and Chris Boucher had 12. The Bucks began to pull away midway through the third quarter and pushed their lead to 21 points early in the fourth.

Toronto got within 10 points with less than five minutes remaining but did not get closer. The Bucks were without star guard Damian Lillard, who is in the concussion protocol, while the Raptors’ Immanuel Quickley sat out with an elbow injury. Dick had 22 first-half points, which included making 12 of 14 free throws.

He came in averaging 19 points per game. Milwaukee attempted 31 3-pointers in the first half as the Raptors focused their defensive attention on Antetokounmpo in and around the paint. The Bucks finished 16 of 56 (28.

6 percent) from deep. The Bucks led 54-43 at halftime, but the Raptors went on an 11-0 run to start third quarter. The Bucks responded with an 11-2 run, capped by Green’s 3-pointer.

The Bucks halted a two-game skid, while the Raptors have lost five straight. Elsewhere, the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 111-99, Phoenix Suns won 120-112 over Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons won 123-121 over Miami Heat in OT, Atlanta Hawks nipped Boston Celtics 117-116, Orlando Magic drowned Charlotte Hornets 114-89 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-108. / AP.