Curry, Warriors move a victory closer to season wins record

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry knocked down six 3-pointers on the way to 26 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 102-94 on Tuesday night to stay on pace for the all-time NBA wins record.

Klay Thompson followed back-to-back 40-point games with 16 as Golden State (67-7) stayed a game ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ pace during their 72-10 season. The Warriors must go 6-2 over their final eight games for the record.

Curry (356) and Thompson (255) already had the most combined 3-pointers by a pair of teammates in a season. Curry, the first player in NBA history with 300 3s in a season, has eight games left to chase 400. Thompson is aiming to top Curry’s previous record of 286 3s.

Draymond Green had 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to just miss back-to-back triple-doubles in the Warriors’ 54th straight regular-season home win and 36th consecutive this season.

Elsewhere, James Harden scored 27 points as Houston rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat LeBron James-less Cleveland 106-100.

Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Houston outscored Cleveland 35-16 in the period.

Dwight Howard’s free throw with 2:13 left put Houston ahead 95-94. Harden’s 3-pointer made it 98-94 before Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 left, making it a one-point game. Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left gave Houston a 101-97 lead.

Irving scored 31 points for Cleveland, which rested James for the night and fell to 1-3 this season without him.

In Indianapolis, Jimmy Butler made a tiebreaking jumper with 3.7 seconds left as Chicago beat Indiana 98-96 to end a four-game losing streak.

Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points as Chicago (37-37) got back to .500 and pulled within two games of Indiana for the eighth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference. Mirotic made seven 3-pointers, his final one tying it at 96 with 2:19 remaining.

The Pacers missed five shots in the final two minutes that would have given them the lead before the Bulls rebounded Pau Gasol’s miss with 20 seconds remaining and got the ball to Butler for his 17-footer from the right wing.

Detroit’s Marcus Morris scored 24 points as the Pistons took advantage of Kevin Durant’s absence in a 88-82 victory over Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rested Durant and Serge Ibaka, and Oklahoma City were held to only nine points in the third period en route to their lowest-scoring game of the season. The Thunder rallied from a 15-point deficit, closing the gap to just one in the fourth, but Detroit were able to get another victory in its push for a play-off spot.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 24 points on 8-of-28 shooting.

Charlotte set a team record for wins in a month with their 13th victory in March, topping Philadelphia 100-85.

Nicolas Batum had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season and Cody Zeller added 18 points and 11 boards.

The Hornets, who entered the game in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, also inched closer to clinching their first play-off spot in two years and just second postseason berth in the last 13 years.

Orlando’s Aaron Gordon had 20 points and Elfrid Payton had 11 points and 12 assists as the Magic scored a season high in defeating Brooklyn 139-105.

The Magic had eight players in double figures, including back-ups Andrew Nicholson with 24 and Jason Smith with 14.