Stephen Curry brought fans to their feet in China with a performance ripped right out of his MVP highlight reel.
Then Magic Johnson had them standing during a somber scene in Las Vegas.
Curry scored 40 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 142-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in Shanghai for a split of their two-game series in China.
It was the Warriors’ first win of the preseason and came like so many of their victories of the last three years, filled with Curry’s incredible shot-making and playmaking .
The 2015 and 2016 NBA MVP was 13 for 20 from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and added eight assists.
The Lakers and Sacramento Kings ended the day with a game in Las Vegas, a week after the shooting that killed 58 people. Johnson, the Lakers Hall of Famer and now team president, addressed the crowd before the game, asking fans to stand for a moment of silence and pray for the families of the victims and lock arms, as players from both teams did while wearing shirts that read (hash)VegasStrong.
—
WARRIORS 142, TIMBERWOLVES 110
Klay Thompson added eight 3-pointers and 28 points, while Kevin Durant scored 22.
Andrew Wiggins had 19 points for Minnesota, which won’t play again in the preseason.
WARRIORS: Golden State shot 60 percent from the field (51 of 85) and 61 percent (20 for 33) from behind the arc. … Rookie Jordan Bell made all five shots and scored 11 points. … Draymond Green also scored 11.
TIMBERWOLVES: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16 points and Jimmy Butler had 15. … The Wolves poured in 44 points in the first quarter, but Tom Thibodeau’s club yielded quarters of 36, 40 and 38 points over the first three periods.
UP NEXT: Golden State (1-2) hosts Sacramento on Friday. Minnesota (2-1) has finished its preseason schedule.
—
WIZARDS 102, CAVALIERS 94
Bradley Beal scored 11 points in limited action and the Wizards improved to 3-0.
The Cavaliers rested LeBron James and nearly all their regulars in Washington and fell to 0-3. Jeff Green had a series of dunks and led Cleveland with 19 points.
CAVALIERS: Also sitting for Cleveland were Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Jae Crowder and Tristan Thompson. … Kay Felder started at guard and had 12 points and 11 assists. … Kyle Korver had 11 points. … Turkish rookie Cedi Osman finished with six points, six assists and five rebounds.
WIZARDS: Beal played nine minutes and fellow guard John Wall logged just 7 1/2. … Jodie Meeks and Carrick Felix scored 12 points off the bench to pace Washington.
UP NEXT: Cleveland (0-3) hosts Chicago on Tuesday. Washington (3-0) visits Miami on Wednesday.
—
TRAIL BLAZERS 134, CLIPPERS 106
Damian Lillard scored 35 points, CJ McCollum added 20 and Portland rang up 70 points in the first half in Los Angeles.
Blake Griffin and Serbian star Milos Teodosic each scored 15 for the Clippers.
TRAIL BLAZERS: Lillard was 13 for 13 from the free throw line. He and McCollum each made four 3-pointers. … Maurice Harkless was 6 for 6 off the bench and scored 16 points. … Jusuf Nurkic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. … Portland scored 43 points in the second quarter.
CLIPPERS: Teodosic made four 3-pointers despite dislocating his left pinkie finger. … DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 14 rebounds. … Danilo Gallinari (left mid-foot sprain), Austin Rivers (strained right glute) and Sam Dekker (strained left oblique) sat out.
UP NEXT: Portland (2-1) visits Sacramento on Monday. Los Angeles (1-2) hosts Sacramento on Thursday.
—
SPURS 122, NUGGETS 100
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Spurs handed the Nuggets their first loss of the preseason.
Nikola Jokic had 19 points and seven rebounds for Denver.
NUGGETS: Gary Harris scored 15 points after agreeing to a four-year, $84 million extension. … Paul Millsap was just 2 for 11 from the field and scored 13 points. … Will Barton came off the bench for 16 points. … Point guards Jameer Nelson and Emmanuel Mudiay were a combined 2 for 11.
SPURS: San Antonio shot 57 percent from the field and 3-point range, going 16 of 28 behind the arc. … Rudy Gay and Danny Green each scored 11 points in a little more than 20 minutes. … Pau Gasol and Patty Mills rested. … Reserve Bryn Forbes scored 20 points.
—
PELICANS 108, BULLS 95
Anthony Davis had 37 points and 15 rebounds in New Orleans’ first victory of the preseason. He was 22 for 23 from the free throw line.
Denzel Valentine scored 15 points for Chicago, which won at New Orleans on Tuesday.
PELICANS: DeMarcus Cousins added 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. … Rajon Rondo, who spent one season with the Bulls, didn’t play. … Davis also had three assists and three steals. … Jrue Holiday scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
BULLS: Robin Lopez, Nikola Mirotic and Justin Holiday all scored 13 points. … Rookie Lauri Markkanen made his preseason debut and was 1 for 9, missing all six 3-point attempts, and scoring four points in 15 minutes. … Jerian Grant had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
UP NEXT: New Orleans (1-2) visits Memphis on Friday. Chicago (2-2) visits Cleveland on Tuesday.
—
NETS 117, KNICKS 83
D’Angelo Russell scored 16 points to lead the unbeaten Nets beat the Knicks for the second time in six nights.
Willy Hernangomez had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the winless Knicks.
KNICKS: Kristaps Porzingis played just 16 minutes before leaving with a sore right hip. … Rookie Frank Ntilikina, Enes Kanter and Michael Beasley all sat out. … Doug McDermott, acquired with Kanter from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade, sprained his left pinkie finger and scored two points in 13 minutes. … Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 points.
NETS: Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert both made their preseason debuts after ankle injuries. Crabbe scored 14 points and LeVert had 12. … Jeremy Lin was just 3 for 12 for seven points.
UP NEXT: New York (0-3) hosts Houston on Monday. Brooklyn (3-0) plays Philadelphia on Wednesday in Uniondale, New York.
—
More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
25% Bonus via Western Union
