SALT LAKE CITY -- Stephen Curry was held in relative check for most of Monday night. The reigning MVP and NBA's leading scorer had 16 points through three quarters as Draymond Green and other teammates did the heavy lifting.
Then came the fourth quarter.
Curry scored 10 of his 26 points in the final 6:20 and the Golden State Warriors held on for their NBA-record 19th consecutive win to start the season with a 106-103 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
"We've had some battles and, obviously, we've had some lopsided victories," Curry said. "But what gets lost in the record is the tough games we've had to claw our way out of like tonight. Just because we are 19-0 doesn't mean we can just show up and blow teams out and guarantee a win, we actually have to do something about it."
The game was tied at 101-101 with 51 seconds left when Curry hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Warriors the lead. Rodney Hood scored 14 seconds later to bring the Jazz within one.
Curry missed a three-pointer, giving the Jazz a chance to take the lead. But Hood missed a three from the wing with five seconds left, and Green grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Curry, who was fouled.
Curry hit two free throws to seal the victory as Gordon Hayward's half-courter at the buzzer fell way short. Klay Thompson added 20, including four three-point baskets.
"Outside of a layup or an uncontested shot, that's a pretty good look." Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of Hood's three-point attempt. "That's a good shot for him. ... I'll take Rodney Hood with that shot any day."
Hayward led the Jazz with 24 points.
The Warriors have won 23 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season.
The two teams went back and forth down the stretch hitting shots in the fourth quarter. Alec Burks scored six in a row, and Favors gave the Jazz a 99-97 lead on a three-point play. Then Curry hit another three-pointer.
Two Favors free throws tied the game at 101-101.
"We knew this was going to be one of the tougher challenges for us," Warriors interim Coach Luke Walton said. "That team is very well coached and they execute and they got those bigs that are a lot to deal with. Once their crowd got into it and they had their confidence going it was a good solid NBA game."
Curry hit three 3-pointers after he checked in at the 6:36 mark of the fourth quarter. One tied the game while the other two gave the Warriors a lead.
"We competed against the best team in the league and gave ourselves a chance to win," Hayward said. "Had a shot at the end. Couple mistakes here and there. ... And maybe it's a different outcome, but can't complain.
"That's why they're 19-0. That's why he's the MVP. He's going to make shots."
CELTICS 105, HEAT 95
MIAMI — Whenever Boston’s lead looked shaky in the final minutes, Avery Bradley had an answer.
And just like that, the Celtics’ threegame road slide is over.
Bradley scored 25 points and forced a big turnover when he knocked away a pass by Dwyane Wade with a minute remaining, Jared Sullinger had 17 points and the Celtics had all five starters score at least 10 points on the way to beating the Miami Heat 105-95 Monday.
Isaiah Thomas scored 16 while fellow starters Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson each added 13 for Boston. Evan Turner had 13 off the bench.
“I felt like we came out from the beginning of the game and had a defensive mindset,” Bradley said.
He had enough of an offensive mindset when Boston needed as well. Bradley has scored at least 25 points in three of his last six outings. “He hit huge shots when we needed them most,” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said.
Wade scored 30 for Miami, which cut a 14-point deficit to one in the fourth quarter but never led after halftime. Chris Bosh played through an illness to add 21 points for the Heat, who got 10 from Tyler Johnson off the bench.
Miami made it a one-possession game on five separate occasions in the final 14 minutes, and Boston scored on its ensuing trip every time. The first three of those were all on jumpers by Bradley, two of them being 3-pointers, and Wade lamented afterward that Miami couldn’t get stops at the biggest moments.
“They played their game from the start,” Wade said. “They were the desperate team tonight.”
Boston was up 94-83 midway through the fourth when Wade got on a tear, scoring eight consecutive Miami points and getting the Heat within five on a layup with 3:24 left. Bosh scored with 2:02 left to cut Boston’s lead to 96-93, but Crowder made two free throws to give the Celtics a bit of breathing room and the Heat never got any closer again.
PISTONS 116, ROCKETS 105
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Reggie Jackson had 31 points and Andre Drummond added 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Monday night.
The game was decided by a first half where the Pistons built a 23-point lead over a team that went to the Western Conference finals six months ago. Houston shot 31 percent in the half, managing only four assists on 50 possessions, and allowed the Pistons to hit 55 percent from the floor.
The Rockets got back into the game by constantly intentionally fouling Drummond — he went 4-for-18 from the line — but were never within one possession.
Rookie Stanley Johnson had 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for Detroit, while James Harden scored 29 for the Rockets.
Sports on 12/01/2015