Curry, NBA-leading Warriors rally to beat Cavaliers 104-89

Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three straight 3-pointers, and the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 on Thursday night.

Curry made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, in the final period to help Golden State outscore the Cavaliers 36-8. The Warriors ran off the first 17 points of the quarter to seize an 85-81 advantage, holding Cleveland to 12 consecutive empty possessions.

Curry finished 15 of 27 from the field, 9 of 16 beyond the arc and 1 of 1 from the foul line. He increased his NBA-best scoring average to 29.5.

Nemanja Bjelica added 14 points, Andrew Wiggins had 12 points and Draymond Green had four points and 14 rebounds for Golden State. The Warriors improved to 13-2. They have won nine straight over the Cavaliers and are 17-1 against them since January 2017.

Darius Garland scored a season-high 25 points as the injury-plagued Cavaliers dropped to 9-8. They took an 81-68 lead into the fourth after Dean Wade batted in a layup as time expired in the third.

HEAT 112, WIZARDS 97

Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Miami beat Washington for its fourth straight victory.

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Washington.

Butler shot 11 of 19 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws in his second consecutive outing over 30 points. Bam Adebayo added 20 points, Gabe Vincent had 18 points and P.J. Tucker 15. The Heat improved to 11-5.

Bradley Beal scored 30 points for Washington, and Kyle Kuzma added 19 points. The Wizards have lost two straight to drop to 10-5.

GRIZZLIES 120, CLIPPERS 108

Ja Morant scored 17 of his 28-points in a third-quarter rally in Memphis' victory over Los Angeles.

Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points each, and Desmond Bane had 16. Brandon Clarke finished with 14 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter.

Paul George led the Clippers with 23 points and six assists. Reggie Jackson had 18 points, hitting 4 of 8 3-point attempts.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, SPURS 90

 Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota beat San Antonio.

D’Angelo Russell added 22 points, and Malik Beasley hit five of Minnesota’s season-high 21 3-pointers for all 15 of his points.

Devin Vassell scored 18 points for San Antonio. The Spurs have lost four in a row.