Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin DurantKyle Terada
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr could only shake his head and grin while Kevin Durant put on the best performance of his young season in the first half.
Kerr and the Warriors were a lot happier they didn't have to deal with Durant in the second half.
Stephen Curry had 34 points and nine assists, and the Warriors rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City 114-109 on Thursday night after Durant left with a sprained right ankle.
"I thought we did a tremendous job on him in the second half. I didn't even notice him in the second half," Kerr joked. "We completely stopped him."
It was the only way the Warriors could.
Durant scored a season-high 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting in a spectacular first half that ended with him stepping on Marreese Speights' foot. Durant said he had a mild ankle sprain and X-rays were negative.
The reigning NBA MVP said he hopes to play at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night but will see how he feels.
"I wanted to play. I wanted go back out there but we wanted to be cautious," Durant said.
Oklahoma City had won seven straight games, which was the longest active streak in the NBA after Memphis snapped Golden State's 16-game winning streak Tuesday night.
Curry added seven rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 19 points for the Warriors, who played without injured centre Andrew Bogut (right knee) and forward David Lee (left hamstring) again.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 33 points.
Westbrook and Curry traded go-ahead shots in the final minutes until the Warriors put together the deciding run.
Curry hit a pull-up jumper, Draymond Green followed with a putback and Curry connected on a short runner to give Golden State a 110-105 lead with 1:39 remaining.
Reggie Jackson made a layup after a timeout, and Curry came back with a finger roll down the lane. The teams traded scores one more time before Harrison Barnes' fadeaway with 17.3 seconds left put the game out of reach.
Green finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Barnes had 12 points and seven rebounds as the forwards headed up Golden State's undersized frontcourt.
In a matchup of the NBA's top teams in opponents' field-goal percentage, both opened with an offensive outpouring and never relented over 48 minutes.
Durant made his first six shots, including three 3-pointers, and scored 16 points in the first 6 minutes. The Thunder went ahead by 17 but led just 40-32 at the end of the first quarter.
It was the most points the Warriors had allowed in any quarter this season.
"When he gets going, ain't too much anybody can do," Westbrook said.
Curry came roaring back in the second, hitting one spectacular shot after another, seemingly controlling the crowd's "oohs" and "aahs" on his fingertips.
"It was fun basketball – up-tempo, high pace," Curry said.
The Warriors led 65-63 at halftime, which took its toll on both stars. Durant and Curry each limped to the locker room after twisting their ankles in the final minute, though Curry's problem was short-lived.
Durant was called for a charge after stepping on Speights' foot and falling to the floor. He lay on the ground in pain before walking to the bench with the help of teammates Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.
Durant came back Dec. 2 after missing the team's first 17 games with a broken right foot, and his latest injury ended his best performance yet this season. It also was the highest-scoring first half of his career.
The game lost most of its buzz when Durant didn't return, and neither team created much separation in the second half, setting up the tight finish.
PELICANS 99, ROCKETS 90
HOUSTON – Anthony Davis had 30 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead New Orleans over Houston.
The Pelicans trailed by one early in the fourth quarter before using a 7-0 run to take a 79-73 lead and they didn't trail again. Ryan Anderson scored the last five points in that spurt to help New Orleans snap a six-game skid in Houston.
Jrue Holiday added 16 points with 10 assists for New Orleans and Anderson had 16 points.
James Harden scored 21 and Dwight Howard had 17 points with 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost for just the second time in nine games.
Harden entered leading the NBA in scoring and had scored more than 40 points in two of his last three games. But he had a tough night by his standards and made just eight of 23 shots.
BULLS 103, KNICKS 97
CHICAGO – Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 35 points and Chicago beat New York in a game missing All-Stars Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony.
Playing without Rose, who sat out with an illness, the Bulls got another strong game from Butler. He was 11 of 21 from the floor with four 3-pointers, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Still, the Bulls had trouble shaking a short-handed New York team that's lost three straight and 13 of 14.
Pau Gasol scored 20 points for Chicago, which went on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to take an 87-77 lead.
The Knicks were led by Tim Hardaway Jr., who had 23 points and five 3-pointers.
Anthony was sidelined with a sore left knee. New York also was without Andrea Bargnani (right hamstring), Cleanthony Early (right knee), Iman Shumpert (left shoulder) and J.R. Smith (left foot).
BUCKS 108, KINGS 107
SACRAMENTO – Brandon Knight scored 20 points and Milwaukee spoiled DeMarcus Cousins' return to the struggling Sacramento Kings.
With their inside game lacking due to missing players, the Bucks shot well from the perimeter for much of the night in winning their third in four games. They went 10 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half and made 13 overall from beyond the arc.
O.J. Mayo and Jared Dudley added 19 points apiece for Milwaukee, outscored 48-26 in the paint.
Playing for the first time in more than three weeks, Cousins looked fatigued at times but still had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in nearly 33 minutes for the Kings.
He missed a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have won it.
Cousins sat out 10 straight games with viral meningitis, and the Kings went 2-8 in his absence. He last played Nov. 26 at Houston.
Ben McLemore scored 22 points, and Rudy Gay had 20 points and nine rebounds. Sacramento has dropped five straight and 10 of 12.
The Kings were playing their second game since the surprise firing Sunday of coach Michael Malone, who was replaced by interim coach Tyrone Corbin.