Curry shakes off injury, tows Warriors to victory

OAKLAND, California – Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 43 points in the third quarter following his first buzzer-beater of the season at the end of the first half to lead the Golden State Warriors to their ninth win in 10 games, 144-98 over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

Curry’s 51-foot shot was the spark on a night that began with his playing status in doubt because of a sore left quadriceps muscle. After testing his leg in warmups, Curry was cleared to play and showed no signs of being slowed by the injury, hitting nine 3-pointers.

Kevin Durant added 23 points, and Klay Thompson had 16 to give Golden State its eighth straight win over its Southern California rival. Blake Griffin scored 20 points for the struggling Clippers. They have lost four of five since star point guard Chris Paul went down with a torn ligament in left thumb.

In other results, it was Celtics 112, Bucks 108;  Heat 116, Pistons 103; Timberwolves 129, Nets 109; Kings 109, Hornets 106; Nuggets 123, Suns 112;  Grizzlies 102, Jazz 95.

In  Salt Lake City,  Zach Randolph scored a season-high 28 points in Memphis’ victory over Utah.

Mike Conley added 23 points, and Marc Gasol had 18. Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 20 points.