Durant leads Warriors past Mavericks for eighth straight win

Durant in 2017 (Photo By TechCrunch – TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017 – Day 2, CC BY 2.0)

OAKLAND, Calif. — After his brilliant game, Omri Casspi returned to the court to sing a Hanukkah prayer along with hundreds of fans and then took his turn lighting the large menorah on night three of the festival of lights — and on Jewish Heritage Night at Oracle Arena.

A veteran forward from Israel, Casspi earned another start for the injury-plagued defending champions and posted his 17th career double-double with season bests of 17 points and 11 rebounds, helping send the Golden State Warriors past the Dallas Mavericks 112-97 on Thursday for their eighth straight win.

“My family’s in town always for Hanukkah, so it’s always fun to have family around,” he said, adding of his role, “Same mindset, just play hard. I want to stay sharp, stay ready whenever I’m called upon.”

Kevin Durant led the way for the Warriors with 36 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Klay Thompson scored 25 points, making all five of his 3-pointers and shooting 10 for 18 overall as the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter.

The Warriors are still down three starters in Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia, while Nick Young joined the sidelined group with a concussion sustained in Monday night’s win over Portland.

Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 16 points and seven boards against his former team.

“They’re a talented team and we let a few miscommunications let them get a run going, and we just couldn’t really stop them,” Barnes said.

Golden State rookie Jordan Bell provided an all-around solid performance in his fourth career start with eight points, a season-best eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Durant also blocked two shots in his fourth 30-point game of the season and third in the last four. Golden State won its 10th in a row against the Mavericks at Oracle Arena and eighth consecutive in the series overall.

TIP-INS

Mavericks: After allowing 40 first-quarter points to the Warriors in the first meeting Oct. 23, the Mavericks led 28-24 after the opening period and were tied 48-all at the break. … Dallas converted the first 14 of Golden State’s 16 turnovers into 18 points.

Warriors: Casspi scored in double figures for the seventh time this season. … Andre Iguodala dished out a season-best 10 assists, the first time he’s reached double digits since Dec. 29, 2013. … Curry is expected to have his sprained right ankle re-evaluated next week, while Green and Pachulia are dealing with sore shoulders. … AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, from California’s Central Valley, was in attendance and is thrilled to get going alongside new slugging teammate Giancarlo Stanton .

ONE MORE FOR NOWITZKI?

Rick Carlisle is crossing his fingers he will be coaching Nowitzki another season in Dallas.

Nowitzki seems set on it, too.

“I’m not going to say 100 per cent I’ll be back, but it’s looking like it,” he told the Dallas Morning News after Thursday’s morning shootaround.

Carlisle has heard hints that’s how his big man is leaning.

“This is kind of what he has been saying all along,” Carlisle said. “We’re about a third of the way through, and he is feeling good, which is great. I’m hoping like crazy that he plays another year because having him here is one of the really special experiences in coaching. As far as the message it sends to the other guys, it’s pretty clear that if you want to be as good as you possibly can be in this league, do what this guy does on a day-to-day basis — everything from diet and nutrition to taking care of your body to doing everything possible to keep your skill level where it needs to be. He’s impeccable, the best I’ve ever seen.”

OUCH!

Sitting courtside, Peggy Mizono took a third-quarter bad pass by the Mavericks to the left eye and face area. She appreciated Durant and Bell checking on her, and KD even kissed Mizono’s cheek. Warriors owner Joe Lacob and athletic trainer Chelsea Lane each delivered ice bags.

“That hurts, I don’t care who you are,” Thompson said. “It doesn’t feel good when a basketball comes at your head.”

“That’s awesome,” coach Steve Kerr said of his players’ care.

Durant also kissed a woman in Oklahoma City in November 2012 when his own errant pass hit her in the forehead.

Chiasson scores 2 in 3rd to help Capitals beat Bruins 5 3 (HKN-NHL-Capsules)
Source: The Canadian Press
Dec 15, 2017 1:40

BOSTON — Alex Chiasson scored two third-period goals, the second on a short-handed breakaway with 8:29 left, and the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 on Thursday night.

Patrice Bergeron scored twice for Boston, moving past Bobby Orr on the team’s all-time list with his 265th career goal and adding another in the final seconds.

Braden Holtby stopped 33 shots for the Capitals, who have beaten Boston 11 straight times. Jakub Vrana and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for Washington, and Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter to make it 5-2 before Bergeron cut the deficit to two with 27 seconds left.

The Bruins had won three straight and nine of 11. Washington has won six of seven and nine of 11.

DUCKS 3, BLUES 1

1. LOUIS (AP) — Kevin Roy scored twice and John Gibson made 29 saves as Anaheim defeated St. Louis.

Andrew Cogliano also scored for the Ducks, who have won three of four. Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who have lost two in a row.

Gibson earned his second victory at St. Louis in the last 16 days. He stopped 37 shots in a 3-2 win on Nov. 29.

Roy scored twice in a span of 2:45 in the third period to push the lead to 3-0. He was called up Tuesday following an injury to Corey Perry.

BLACKHAWKS 5, JETS 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz each had a goal and an assist as Chicago extended its season-high winning streak to four with a victory over Winnipeg.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Tommy Wingels and Michal Kempny also scored for the Blackhawks (16-11-5). Corey Crawford made 27 saves in the first of five games this season between the Central Division foes.

Nikolaj Ehlers thwarted Crawford’s shutout bid when he scored a power-play goal at 5:35 of the third period. He has a goal in each of his past four games.

The loss ended Winnipeg’s string of seven straight wins at home.

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Jets (18-9-5). Hellebuyck had been unbeaten in regulation at home this season (11-1-1).

BLUE JACKETS 6, ISLANDERS 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots to help Columbus hold off New York.

Markus Nutivaara, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones, Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson also scored for the Blue Jackets, who snuffed out an Islanders comeback attempt that included a hat trick by wing Josh Bailey.

Columbus (20-11-1) has won 11 of its last 15 and is in a knot of teams battling for supremacy in the tough Metropolitan Division.

Casey Cizikas also scored for New York, and John Tavares had two assists. The Islanders (17-12-3) have lost six of eight.

WILD 2, MAPLE LEAFS 0

1. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Alex Stalock stopped 28 shots for his first NHL shutout in three seasons, steering Minnesota past Toronto for its fourth straight victory.

Tyler Ennis scored early and Mikael Granlund added a late goal for the Wild, whose first three wins during the streak were all in extra time. They handed the Maple Leafs their first blank slate since a 3-0 loss at Calgary on Nov. 30, 2016.

The Maple Leafs, who have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and entered with the fifth-highest scoring average in the league, have totalled three goals over their last three games without young star centre Auston Matthews (upper-body injury).

FLYERS 2, SABRES 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Valtteri Filppula scored the game-winner with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second period and Travis Sanheim netted his first career goal to help Philadelphia edge Buffalo for its fifth straight victory.

Brian Elliott made 19 saves for the Flyers, whose winning streak comes on the heels of a 10-game skid. The winning stretch began with a three-game trip to Canada that started with coach Dave Hakstol changing the team’s formation to a more defensive-minded 1-2-2 alignment. Philadelphia (13-11-7) has outscored opponents 19-8 since.

Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Sabres (8-18-6), who are in the Eastern Conference cellar. Buffalo was looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since Oct. 21-24. The Sabres’ point streak was snapped at five games.

CANADIENS 2, DEVILS 1, OT

MONTREAL (AP) — Tomas Plekanec scored 1:52 into overtime and Montreal beat New Jersey to snap a three-game slide.

Andrew Shaw scored for the Canadiens (14-14-4) in the first period and Carey Price made 31 saves in his ninth straight start.

Stefan Noesen had the goal for the Devils (17-9-5), who remained third in the rugged Metropolitan Division. Cory Schneider stopped 34 shots in defeat.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2, PENGUINS 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jon Merrill’s first goal of the season snapped a third-period tie, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots against his former team and Vegas beat Pittsburgh.

It was the first meeting between the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions and Vegas, which acquired Fleury from Pittsburgh during the NHL expansion draft on June 21.

Fleury was taken by Pittsburgh with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft.

James Neal got his 15th goal of the season for Vegas. Ian Cole scored Pittsburgh’s goal.

The Golden Knights became the fastest team to 20 wins in NHL history.

PREDATORS 4, OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Juuse Saros made 46 saves for his second career shutout and Kyle Turris had a goal and an assist as Nashville kept up its torrid pace of late by blanking Edmonton.

Pontus Aberg, Kevin Fiala and Roman Josi also scored for the Predators (20-7-4), who are 10-1-2 in their last 13 games and have won 10 straight against Edmonton.

Laurent Brossoit stopped 19 shots for the Oilers (13-17-2), who outshot Nashville 22-4 in the first period and 46-23 overall.

LIGHTNING 4, COYOTES 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored to remain tied for the NHL goals lead and Tampa Bay beat Arizona for its season-high sixth straight victory.

Kucherov matched Washington’s Alex Ovechkin with his 22nd goal to help the NHL-best Lightning push aside the league-worst Coyotes in front of a small, quiet crowd.

Vladislav Namestnikov, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson also scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for his NHL-leading 21st victory. Coming off a 3-0 win at St. Louis on Tuesday night in a matchup of the NHL’s top teams, the Lightning are 22-6-2 for 48 points — 29 more than the Coyotes (7-22-5).

Clayton Keller scored and Antti Raanta made 42 saves in Arizona’s fifth straight loss.

AVALANCHE 2, PANTHERS 1

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves and Colorado topped Florida for the second time in five days.

Colorado won 7-3 in Florida on Saturday night and swept the season series behind a strong game from MacKinnon. He had his third two-goal game and leads the Avalanche with 35 points.

MacKinnon gave Colorado a 2-1 advantage at 6:44 of the third period with his team-leading 13th of the season.

Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, and James Reimer made 28 saves.

SHARKS 3, FLAMES 2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Joonas Donskoi scored the game-winner late in the third period and had an assist to lead San Jose over Calgary.

Chris Tierney and Timo Meier also had a goal and an assist each for the Sharks (17-10-3). Aaron Dell made 32 stops to improve to 6-3-1.

Michael Frolik and Johnny Gaudreau scored for the Flames (16-13-3). Mike Smith had 26 saves.