Warriors avoid disaster after Curry’s mental lapse, tie series with Kings
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn’t have, and the defending champion Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, evening their playoff series at two games apiece.
De’Aaron Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Sacramento. His 3-pointer with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one, and then Curry missed a 16-foot jumper on the other end and Keegan Murray corralled the rebound. With Curry and Draymond Green defending, Fox dished to former Warrior Barnes for the potential game-winning 3, which hit the back of the rim.
Golden State led 126-121 with 42.4 seconds left when Curry called the excessive timeout, and Malik Monk made the technical free throw for Sacramento.
Klay Thompson made a baseline 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and another with 3:24 left, finishing with 26 points for the Warriors.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
Curry’s 3 with 4:10 remaining gave Golden State a 121-117 lead and he finished 11 for 22 with five 3s while dueling all afternoon with Fox.
After Monk’s layup made it 107-106 Kings with 9:03 to play, Curry responded with a driving layup and a 3 in a 14-second span.
Green came off the bench after serving a one-game suspension while the Warriors dominated Thursday’s Game 2 without him. Given the momentum and success, coach Steve Kerr stuck with Jordan Poole in the starting five Sunday.
Mary Altaffer, Associated Press
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro drives against New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett, right, during Sunday's Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at Madison Square Garden in New York.
KNICKS 102, CAVALIERS 93: Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and host New York took a 3-1 lead over Cleveland in their first-round series.
Josh Hart moved into the starting lineup and added 19 points and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who can reach the second round for the first time since 2013 with a victory in Cleveland on Wednesday. New York would host Game 6, if necessary, on Friday at what has been a deafening Madison Square Garden during the last two games that were dominant defensively.
New York forced Cleveland All-Star Donovan Mitchell into one of the worst games of his postseason career, finishing with just 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Darius Garland had 23 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, bouncing back nicely after going 4 for 21 in the Knicks’ Game 3 romp. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 14 points.
Barrett was only 6 for 25 in the two games in Cleveland but has been outstanding back at home, where fans chanted his name in the second half. He had five straight points to break the Knicks free from a 75-all tie, then added another basket before Hart scored to push it to 90-81 midway during a stretch when Cleveland could only manage two baskets in more than four minutes.
CELTICS 129, HAWKS 121: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored 31 points and Boston led nearly the entire way, holding off Atlanta for a commanding 3-1 lead in the opening-round playoff series.
The Celtics can deliver the clincher Tuesday night when the series returns to Boston for Game 5.
Tatum and Brown combined to score Boston’s final 16 points.
Brown, who has been wearing a protective mask after sustaining facial contusions in February, took off the device after making only 1 of 7 shots. He went 11 of 15 the rest of the way.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, NUGGETS 108 (OT): Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Minnesota beat visiting Denver in overtime to avoid elimination in Game 4 of its first-round series.
Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who held on after the Nuggets scored the final 12 points of regulation to force OT. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 43 points.
