Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry looks on from the bench during the third quarter of their NBA game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Picture: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Los Angeles - The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors 102-93 on Saturday, stifling Stephen Curry and stopping him from setting an NBA all-time record on their court.
Curry came into the contest needing 10 three-pointers to surpass Ray Allen's all-time record of 2,973.
The Warriors' shooting star has had 10 three-pointers or more in 22 career games, but in the face of a stringent Sixers' defense he connected on just three of 14 from beyond the arc on the way to 18 points.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 26 points, Tobias Harris added 16 and Matisse Thybulle did the heavy lifting in guarding Curry.
"It was no secret that he was going for this record right now," Thybulle said. "Joel and I talked today during shoot-around and he said we're not letting that happen in our house.
"So I took it upon myself to make sure it didn't."
Overall Curry made just six of his 20 attempts from the field, although he still outscored his brother Seth Curry, who put up 10 points for Philadelphia.
The Warriors star, who now needs seven three-pointers to surpass Allen's record, gets his next shot against the Pacers on Monday at Indianapolis.
The Warriors then continue their road trip against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr, whose Warriors lost for just the fifth time this season and fell a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns for the Western Conference lead, said the key for Curry's record chase would be "just to let it happen".
"The record's going to happen at some point soon," Kerr said. "No reason to force anything."
Curry's pursuit of Allen's record, established in an 18-year career that concluded in 2014, dominated a night that featured seven games.
There was a nail-biter in Los Angeles, where Reggie Jackson scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including what proved to be the game-winner with 2.2 seconds left in the Clippers' 106-104 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Jackson had scored seven straight points in the final period, putting the host Clippers up 100-96 with a driving layup with 1:59 to play.
But he followed with an airball from three-point range and Orlando clawed back to tie the score at 104-104 with 23.6 seconds left.
The Clippers kept their faith in Jackson and he didn't disappoint with the shot that put them back in the lead, and Orlando's Terrence Ross missed a potential game-winning three pointer as time expired.
"They just kept backing me," Jackson said of the support he received from coaches and teammates. "It was easy to dig deep down and find something else in there."
Jazz hold off Wizards
In Washington, Utah's Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and Rudy Gobert had a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Jazz pushed their winning streak to seven games with a 123-98 victory over the Wizards.
Hassan Whiteside scored 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for Utah, who polished off a 4-0 road trip.
The Wizards emerged from a back-and-forth first half with a 51-50 lead. But Utah closed the third quarter on a 13-4 scoring run to take an 89-61 lead and never trailed in the final period.
The Miami Heat also notched a lopsided victory, beating the depleted Chicago Bulls 118-92.
The Bulls were missing seven players due to Covid-10 health and safety protocols. That included one player, Stanley Johnson, who had been called up on a 10-day contract after the Bulls were granted a hardship exemption.
"We need a hardship for a hardship right now," said Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who said that Chicago had "a lot of guys sitting at home with no symptoms."
Donovan called that a good, if frustrating, thing, saying he thought some players who experienced more severe illness struggled upon returning to play.
Zach LaVine did what he could for the Bulls with a game-high 33 points.
But the Heat, led by a season-high 26 points from veteran Duncan Robinson, had five players in double-figures for the wire-to-wire win.
In the late game, Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 17 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets avenged an earlier loss to San Antonio by beating the Spurs 127-112.
The Nuggets used balanced attack Saturday after a disappointing loss to the Spurs two nights earlier. On Thursday, Denver never led in falling 123-111 to San Antonio.
AFP