Denver • Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Stephen Curry had 22 and the Golden State Warriors rode a big third quarter to a 127-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green added 15 points apiece for the Warriors. They have won six of their last seven, including all three during their just concluded trip.
Will Barton had 21 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets. None of Denver’s starters reached double figures in scoring.
Up by five at halftime, the Warriors forced a decisive turn in the game with a 24-4 run to start the third, taking an 84-59 lead when Curry hit a fall-away 3-pointer from the baseline after poking the ball away from Mason Plumlee for a steal.
The Warriors finished with 43 points in the third — the most points allowed by the Nuggets in a period this season — and took a 103-76 lead into the fourth quarter. Durant had 13 of his points in the period and Curry added 12 in the same span, helping Golden State lead by as many as 29 points and outscore Denver by 22 points in the quarter.
Timberwolves 112, Mavericks 99 • In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins added 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the floundering Dallas Mavericks 112-99 on Saturday night for their first four-game winning streak in nearly five years.
Holding Mavericks star Harrison Barnes scoreless in the second half, the Wolves enjoyed a blowout for once after the margin of their previous five victories totaled just 17 points. The last time they won four games in a row was Dec. 7-15, 2012, when Towns was just a junior in high school.
Coming off a career-low two points Wednesday at New Orleans, when foul trouble against bulwarks DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis limited him to 22 minutes, Towns responded like the Timberwolves needed him to and thought he would. He had seven points and two rebounds during a 13-0 run late in the third quarter that pushed their lead to 25 points.
Barnes finished with 17 points for the Mavericks, who have the worst record in the NBA and their first 1-10 start since the 1993-94 season when they staggered out of the gate at 1-23 and finished 13-69 in coach Quinn Buckner's only year on the job.
Grizzlies 113, Clippers 104 • In Los Angeles, Mike Conley scored 22 points and Memphis made 13 3-pointers and dominated off the bench to beat Los Angeles.
Marc Gasol added 21 points and Tyreke Evans had 20 to top four reserves in double figures. The Memphis backups outscored the Los Angeles reserves 55-22.
Blake Griffin had 30 points for the Clippers, and Patrick Beverley had 23.
The Clippers were 4 of 26 from 3-point range, while the Grizzlies went 13 of 31.
Pelicans 96, Bulls 90, OT • In Chicago, Anthony Davis had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead New Orleans past Chicago.
DeMarcus Cousins added 25 points— 18 and seven after halftime — and 11 rebounds to help the Pelicans snap a six-game, regular-season losing streak to the Bulls.
Jameer Nelson added 13 points, Darius Miller had 11, and Jrue Holiday 10 for New Orleans. The Pelicans improved to 4-2 on the road.
Justin Holiday had 18 points, Denzel Valentine added 16 and Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez had 14 apiece for the Bulls. They were coming off their first road victory.
Pistons 108, Kings 99 • In Detroit, Andre Drummond had 16 points and 19 rebounds to help Detroit beat Sacramento.
Detroit improved to 7-3 with its fifth victory in six games. Avery Bradley had 24 points, and Tobias Harris added 20.
Sacramento lost its seventh straight game to fall to 1-8. Zach Randolph led the Kings with 19 points.