LOS ANGELES — Points came easily for Steph Curry on Saturday. Eleven in his first five minutes, 17 before the game was 8 1/2 minutes old.
"I just wanted to start off the game right," Curry said. "It's obviously weird starting a game at 12:30 (p.m.). You've got to find that energy and something to build momentum, especially early."
He finished with a season-high 45 points without playing the fourth quarter and the Golden State Warriors ran away from the Los Angeles Clippers 121-105 for their fourth straight victory.
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"I knew right away, when I got free for a couple of threes in the first quarter and they went down, I got in a rhythm," Curry said. "Beyond that, you just keep your head down and keep shooting and stay aggressive."
Curry took advantage of the guard-depleted Clippers, making 11 of 21 shots, including 8 of 16 3-pointers, going against rookie Juwan Evans and G-League call-up Tyrone Wallace (see full recap).
Tatum helps Celtics win sixth straight heading into matchup vs. Sixers
NEW YORK — With a couple big wins behind them and a long plane ride ahead, the Boston Celtics knew they were in for a rough game.
"I think everybody had to push through," rookie Jayson Tatum said.
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Tatum did most of the pushing at the end.
He had a driving dunk and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, pulling the Celtics out of a late hole and leading them to an 87-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
Playing without Al Horford because of a sore left knee, Boston won its sixth straight heading into its trip to London to face Philadelphia on Thursday (see full recap).
Pistons recover from blowout loss vs. Sixers to beat Rockets
DETROIT — Tobias Harris scored 27 points, and the Detroit Pistons held on for another win against one of the NBA's top teams, 108-101 over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Detroit is only four games over .500, but the Pistons have beaten Golden State, Boston, San Antonio, Minnesota and now Houston. The Rockets are without injured star James Harden, but the Pistons were missing their own standout, with Andre Drummond sidelined because of a right rib contusion.
As usual, Houston relied heavily on 3-point shooting. The Rockets went 7 for 13 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, but were only 8 for 34 after that.
Detroit was the more efficient team from 3-point range, going 12 of 25 (see full recap).
Antetokounmp, Bledsoe rally Bucks past Wizards
WASHINGTON — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 12 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe added 21 points and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away late to beat the Washington Wizards 110-103 on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo also had seven assists to help Milwaukee win for the fourth time in six games and snap Washington's four-game winning streak.
Khris Middleton had 20 points, and John Henson added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks. Milwaukee guard Matthew Dellavedova was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul on Washington's Bradley Beal midway through the fourth quarter.
John Wall had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards, but shot 0 for 5 from the floor in the fourth. Bradley Beal led Washington with 20 points on a night starting swingman Otto Porter Jr. sat out with a strained right hip (see full recap).