BASKETTBALL

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Stephen Curry scored 52 points and Draymond Green added a triple-double as the Golden State Warriors clinched a crucial 134-125 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Curry, the NBA's all-time leader in three-point shooting, once again demonstrated his long-range prowess, draining 12-of-20 attempts from outside the arc at Memphis's FedExForum.

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The Los Angeles Lakers suffered another setback in their NBA playoff push on Monday, falling 118-106 to the Orlando Magic, who notched their first home victory since February. Despite 32 points from Luka Doncic and 24 from LeBron James, the Lakers dropped their third straight game and at 43-28 are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the battle for fourth place in the Western Conference.

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Seven players and members of coaching staff were ejected after a wild brawl broke out during the Minnesota Timberwolves' clash with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA on Sunday. A testy duel between the two sides at the Target Center in Minneapolis erupted into chaos early in the second quarter when Minnesota's Naz Reid took exception to being bumped by Detroit's Ron Holland as he drove towards the basket.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points to power NBA Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City to a tense 103-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday as Denver ended Houston's nine-game winning streak. Gilgeous-Alexander endured a tough shooting night but connected on all 11 of his free throws, including two in the final second that sealed the victory.

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LeBron James tipped in a buzzer-beating rebound with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Los Angeles Lakers halted their three-game losing streak with a pulsating 120-119 road victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. A thrilling duel in Indianapolis saw the Pacers climb out of a 13-point fourth-quarter hole to snatch a 119-118 lead with 42 seconds remaining and leave the Lakers staring down the barrel of a fourth straight defeat.

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Luka Doncic raced to the 200th 30-point game of his career as the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of an under-strength Denver Nuggets line-up to score a 120-108 victory over their Western Conference rivals on Wednesday.

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The Miami Heat thrashed the Golden State Warriors 112-86 on Tuesday, handing Jimmy Butler a stinging loss in his first game against his old club since his acrimonious exit. Butler, who was traded away to Golden State in February after a series of bust-ups with the Heat management, finished with just 11 points as the Warriors offense struggled to click. Instead it was Miami who dominated from the outset, grabbing the lead early on before coasting to a wire-to-wire victory.

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Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Ivica Zubac added 28 on his 28th birthday on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to hand the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers a second straight defeat, 132-119. The Cavs, the runaway leaders in the Eastern Conference, got off to a hot start as they launched a five-game road trip in Los Angeles, scoring 45 points in the first quarter on the way to a 73-68 halftime lead.

But the Clippers, with coach Tyronn Lue absent because of back spasms, held the Cavs to 46 points in the second half in a gritty performance that saw Cleveland drop a second successive game for the first time since January. Max Strus scored 24 points to lead the Cavaliers, whose 16-game winning streak was ended Sunday by Orlando. "It's my birthday, I had to bring it," Zubac said, adding that the Clippers "wanted this one bad" as they chase the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves for sixth place in the West and direct entry into the playoffs.

Golden State star guard Stephen Curry was a spectator as the Warriors rebounded from a Monday loss to Denver with a 104-93 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in San Francisco. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his "exhausted" superstar needed some rest after a lacklustre performance in the loss to Denver.

In Curry's absence, Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Brandin Podziemski added 17 as he started at guard, and the Warriors thwarted the Bucks' second-half comeback bid. Draymond Green scored just three points but was a defensive force. He had three of his four blocked shots in the first quarter and finished with two steals to go with his 10 rebounds. "Draymond, that defence tonight on Giannis was incredible," Kerr said. "To hold him to five field goals - Draymond showed why he's one of the great defenders in the world. It wasn't just the defence," Kerr added. "It was the leadership, the energy." Kyle Kuzma led the Bucks with 22 points, Antetokounmpo scored 20 and Damian Lillard added 16.

Trailing 58-44 at half-time, the Bucks took a six-point lead late in the third quarter as the weary-looking Warriors coughed up 10 of their 19 turnovers. But Butler's three free throws to end the third put the Warriors up by two going into the fourth quarter and the Bucks couldn't get back in front again. Kristaps Porzingis and rookie Baylor Scheierman stepped up as the NBA champion Boston Celtics shook off the absence of star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96 on Tuesday. Porzingis connected on an efficient nine of 13 shots from the floor on the way to a game-high 25 points.

In his second game back from an eight-game absence with a respiratory illness, Porzingis added 13 rebounds, a steal and three blocked shots. Scheierman scored 12 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics finally pulled away in a game in which they struggled to find their offensive footing without Brown and Tatum - both rested with nagging knee injuries. It gave Scheierman a chance to shine, and he took it. He connected on seven of eight shots, including six of seven from three-point range. His three-pointer to end the third quarter sent Boston into the final period with a 71-70 lead.

The 30th pick in the NBA draft drilled back-to-back threes midway through the fourth that gave the Celtics a four-point lead they wouldn't relinquish. "He's got a high level of toughness," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Scheierman, who received a huge ovation as he left the court at Boston's TD Garden arena. "Probably a top-three environment I've ever been a part of," Scheierman said. "It's just special... the best sports town in the country, best city in the country." The playoff-bound Celtics notched their 50th win of the season. They trail only the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, with a comfortable lead over the third-placed New York Knicks.