Golden State’s Stephen Curry shoots over Brooklyn’s DeAndre’ Bembry during the Warriors’ 117-99 win on Tuesday night in New York. Frank Franklin III/Associated Press
NEW YORK — Stephen Curry had 37 points, easily winning matchup of the NBA’s top two scorers when Kevin Durant had his worst night of the season, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 117-99 on Tuesday.
Durant came in leading the league with 29.6 points per game, but he managed only 19, the first time all season he didn’t hit 20. He shot 0 for 8 in the decisive third quarter and finished 6 for 19 after sitting the fourth.
Curry almost caught his former teammate for the NBA scoring lead, making nine 3-pointers and raising his average to 28.7 per game. Durant dropped to 28.9.
Curry was 12 for 19 overall, with fans loudly cheering his long shots and giving him “MVP! MVP!” chants while Durant and the home team misfired.
Andrew Wiggins added 19 points for the Warriors, who bounced back from a loss in Charlotte that stopped a seven-game winning streak and improved their NBA-best record to 12-2.
James Harden scored 24 points for the Nets, who came home from a 5-1 road trip and fell flat in the nationally televised matchup that pitted Durant against his former team. He won both meetings last season, his first playing for Brooklyn after leaving Golden State.
But this is a much improved Warriors team this season and showed it off during a dominant third quarter when they outscored the Nets 35-18 after a close first half.
Wiggins had the first two baskets of the third and Curry the next two, pushing a five-point lead to 71-58. Both had to go to the bench during the period with their fourth fouls, but the Warriors did some of their best work without them.
Golden State had an 18-5 run and held Brooklyn to just one field goal in a span of more than six minutes. Andre Iguodala beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to end the quarter, making it 98-76.
Golden State shot 13 of 18 (72%) in the third, while the Nets were 5 for 22.
NOTES
MAVERICKS: Dallas star Luka Doncic has been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against Phoenix with a sprained left ankle and knee after getting injured late in a win over Denver.
Doncic’s lower left leg got caught and bent awkwardly under Austin Rivers as the Nuggets guard fell on a layup attempt after colliding with Doncic in the final minute Monday night. Dallas won 111-101.
The team said the 22-year-old wouldn’t be available for the first of two consecutive games at the Suns. Dallas then has two games at the Los Angeles Clippers to finish its four-game trip.
It will be the first missed game this season for Doncic, who has had issues with sprained ankles in the past. The most significant was a seven-game absence in 2019-20, not long before the pandemic suspended the season.
The injury comes after the most impressive win for the Mavericks this season going into a difficult stretch of the schedule, and with Doncic and European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis clicking better than they have in some time.
BUCKS: Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton is practicing with his teammates again and expects to play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing eight games due to a positive COVID-19 test.
“I’ve been working out the last couple of days here while guys were on the road,” Middleton said after Tuesday’s practice. “In practice, I felt good. But everybody knows game shape is a totally different ballgame. I can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow.”
Bucks Coach Mike Budenholzer said Middleton will gradually work toward his usual amount of playing time.
PELICANS: New Orleans forward Zion Williamson won’t begin participating in five-on-five drills until after Nov. 24 at the earliest, the club announced.
Williamson has been cleared to participate in full-speed contact drills on a one-on-one basis after doctors reviewed imaging of his fractured right foot late last week.
The star forward is scheduled to have another round of scans done on Nov. 24, after which team physicians will decide whether to clear the 2019 top overall draft choice out of Duke for full team drills.
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