SAN FRANCISCO. – Klay Thompson returned from a 2 1/2-year absence with 17 points in 20 minutes of play, and Stephen Curry scored a game-high 28 points Sunday night as the Golden State Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 96-82 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Playing for the first time since tearing the ACL in his left knee in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson needed just 40 seconds to record his first basket of the season and less than a half to throw down his first dunk and splash his first 3-pointer.
The five-time All-Star finished 3-for-8 on 3-pointers and 7-for-18 overall from the field. He also had three rebounds, one assist and one block following a 941-day absence that included a ruptured right Achilles in a comeback attempt before the 2020-21 season.
Curry shot 4-for-11 on 3-pointers on a night when he and Thompson combined for seven of Golden State’s 10 threes in the team’s 42 attempts. Lamar Stevens had 17 points to pace Cleveland, which was making its second stop on a six-game Western swing.
Grizzlies 127, Lakers 119
Desmond Bane shot 5-for-8 from 3-point distance and scored 23 points as visiting Memphis beat Los Angeles to earn its franchise-record ninth straight victory.
Jaren Jackson Jr. added 21 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for the Grizzlies, and Ja Morant finished with 16 points and seven assists after he sat out Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers with a sore left thigh.
LeBron James had 35 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who came in riding a season-long four-game winning streak. It was the 11th consecutive game that James scored at least 25 points; James, 37, is the oldest NBA player to accomplish that feat.
Nets 121, Spurs 119 (OT)
Rookie Cam Thomas hit the tiebreaking basket with 1.7 seconds left in overtime as Brooklyn ended a five-game home losing streak by outlasting San Antonio in New York.
The Nets won their first home game since beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 16 and survived blowing a 12-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 28 points but also missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation, and the game reached overtime when an alley-oop layup by Kenta Bates-Diop was short at the buzzer.
Clippers 106, Hawks 93
Amir Coffey matched his career high of 21 points and helped Los Angeles end its three-game losing streak with a win over visiting Atlanta.
Coffey, playing on a two-way contract, was 8-for-12 from the field and tied another career high with five 3-pointers. He added five rebounds and three assists. Six other Clippers players scored in double figures, including veteran Serge Ibaka with 16 points off the bench.
Atlanta’s Trae Young scored 19 points and saw his franchise-record streak of 25-plus-point games end at 17. Young was 8-for-21 from the floor and only 1-for-6 from distance, with seven assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 19 points, one shy of his season high.
