WARRIORS 105, MAVERICKS 98
DALLAS -- Stephen Curry thought about protecting his ankles. Golden State Coach Steve Kerr screamed for a timeout.
The object of their preoccupation? Marreese Speights' wayward shoe.
In a game with a weird footnote, the Warriors won their franchise-record 15th in row Saturday as Curry scored 29 points in a 105-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
"It was a bizarre sequence," said Kerr, at 20-2 off to the fastest start ever for a first-year coach.
After Speights lost his shoe making a move for the Warriors in the third quarter, the big man's sneaker was thrown toward midcourt to get it out of the way as the possession continued.
When the teams headed back the other way, Curry picked up the loose shoe and tried to toss it to Speights. But Mavericks center Tyson Chandler swatted the sneaker in midair, knocking it near the sideline and prompting Curry to gesture toward an official.
The blocked shoe drew the biggest roar from an otherwise quiet crowd.
"When I was on the wing, and I saw the shoe, and I immediately thought about my ankles, so I thought, 'I got to pick that up before I try to make that move,'" Curry said. "On the other transition, when he went to go get his shoe back, but Tyson thought, otherwise, I guess. I've never seen that happen before."
Chandler said the move was purely tactical, not motivational for a team that fell behind by 21 points in the first quarter and 28 in the second before getting within seven points in the final minute of the game.
"You can't run with a sock on," said Chandler, who had 11 point and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks. "I was hoping that we could exploit them at the other end until they either had to call timeout or he had to foul. But we didn't take advantage of it."
Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 23 points for Dallas, approved of the move.
"That was probably the best defensive play of the night," he said.
Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 17 in the first half, and Thompson finished with 25 as the Warriors became the 12th NBA team to open a season 20-2.
Monta Ellis scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who played without Chandler Parsons because of a sore back. Dallas dropped to 0-5 against the top seven teams in the Western Conference.
Draymond Green had 20 points and eight rebounds for Golden State, and Harrison Barnes added 12 points and nine boards.
NETS 114, HORNETS 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Joe Johnson scored 22 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 114-87 on Saturday night for their second consecutive victory.
Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) was 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range as the Nets shot 16 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Deron Williams had 18 points and 10 assists, and Mason Plumlee outplayed counterpart Al Jefferson with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets (10-12), who eclipsed 100 points for the first time in 11 games.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 15 points for the Hornets (6-17), who shot 36 percent from the field in their second consecutive loss.
Alan Anderson was 4 of 5 from three-point range and scored 17 points off the bench. Cory Jefferson filled in for Kevin Garnett, who got a night off, scoring 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Jarrett Jack chipped in with 14 points off the bench.
TRAIL BLAZERS 95, PACERS 85
INDIANAPOLIS -- LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Damian Lillard added 18 points and the Portland Trail Blazers finished their five-game road trip with a victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Portland (18-6) had lost two consecutive overall and four consecutive on the Pacers' home court.
C.J. Watson had 23 points and Rodney Stuckey added 14 for the struggling Pacers (7-17), who have lost eight consecutive. It's Indiana's longest losing streak since an eight-game skid in December 2009.
Indiana never had much of a chance after the first quarter.
Portland shot 77.8 percent from the field against the Pacers' usually stout defense in the second quarter, turning a one-point deficit into a 58-38 halftime lead.
MAGIC 100, HAWKS 99
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tobias Harris got a leaning, 13-foot jumper to rattle in at the buzzer, giving the Orlando Magic a 100-99 victory Saturday night that snapped the Atlanta Hawks' nine-game winning streak.
Harris finished with 20 points, Evan Fournier added 19 and Nik Vucevic 18. Orlando took the second game of the back-to-back after Atlanta's victory at home Friday.
The game was tight throughout, featuring 10 ties and 15 lead changes. The Magic had 10 first-quarter turnovers, but just five the rest of the game.
Jeff Teague had 24 points, leading six Hawks players with 10 or more points. Al Horford added 18 and Kyle Korver 11.
BUCKS 111, CLIPPERS 106
MILWAUKEE -- Brandon Knight scored 22 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jamal Crawford hit a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to pull the Clippers to 109-106. Knight's inbounds pass was tipped out of bounds by Matt Barnes, who was tied up with Khris Middleton on a close play.
The referees reviewed the replay and confirmed that the Bucks had the ball. Milwaukee inbounded again, and Knight hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to close the scoring.
GRIZZLIES 120, 76ERS 115, OT
PHILADELPHIA -- Mike Conley hit the tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime and scored a career-high 36 points, leading Memphis past Philadelphia.
The Grizzlies rallied from 18 points down over the final seven minutes of regulation to keep the Sixers winless at home. Conley scored 16 points in the fourth and kept Memphis in the hunt for best record in the Western Conference.
Zach Randolph had 24 points and 11 assists. Conley was 13 of 22 from the floor, hit five three-pointers and had nine assists.
ROCKETS 108, NUGGETS 96
HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard had 26 points and 13 rebounds in his return from injury and the Houston Rockets overcame an early deficit for a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Howard, who missed the previous 11 games with a strained right knee, also reached a milestone, eclipsing 10,000 rebounds in his career.
James Harden had 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the Rockets.
Ty Lawson had 19 points and 12 assists, and Darrell Arthur had a season-high 20 points for the Nuggets.
Sports on 12/14/2014