Nuggets hand Warriors third loss

If the voting ended today, Bryant will be joined in the Western Conference frontcourt by Kevin Durant and Golden State’s Draymond Green with Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook as the starting guards.

Cole Aldrich, who started in place of Jordan, scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Chris Paul had 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, sparking the Clippers to their 10th consecutive victory.

Bryant’s eight points were far under the 27.1 average he accumulated in his first 32 visits to the San Francisco Bay Area. In both cases, you’re talking about inexcusable performances that are becoming commonplace for otherwise good teams. To have that appreciation from them tonight was pretty awesome. Stephen Curry scored 38 points to lead the Warriors.

Golden State fell 112-110 at Denver on Wednesday night.

Harden added 11 assists, while center Dwight Howard posted his own double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Rockets stretched their winning streak to a season-best five games. His only 2-point hoop came on his second dunk of the season.

“That was a tough one for me to get through”, Bryant said afterwards. “I thought they played hard”.

With Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant set to hang up his sneakers at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, one of the most legendary figures in Lakers and National Basketball Association history expressed great admiration for the Black Mamba on Thursday night.

The 37-year-old Bryant returned to Oracle Arena on Thursday night and the site of his first career 50-point game to face the defending National Basketball Association champion Golden State Warriors.

With the Mavericks on the second night of a back-to-back after an overtime loss to Cleveland on Tuesday, coach Rick Carlisle chose not to play his five regular starters – Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons, Deron Williams and Zaza Pachulia. “We just spotted them too many points”. “I had my run and now it’s important for them to go ahead and carry it forward”.

Will Barton scored 21 for the Nuggets, who snapped a four-game losing streak to the Warriors. Guard Klay Thompson missed a fall-away jumper at the buzzer, and the Nuggets escaped. “Kobe!” before a rousing ovation when his name was called.

“Mostly coming off the screens, I had a lot of open shots”, he said. “If I got my legs into a little bit more, I think it would have gone in. I wanted him to get the gesture that he deserves”.

None of the above, said interim coach Luke Walton.

Still, there’s a possibility that the Nuggets win over the Warriors could be huge.

During pregame introductions, the Warriors showed a tribute from Lakers Hall of Famer and Golden State executive Jerry West with a highlight video on the main scoreboard as fans in the sellout crowd – including retiring Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson, Oakland quarterback Derek Carr and Athletics manager Bob Melvin – chanted “Kobe!”

But with Bryant already making history, he met beforehand with West, Warriors general manager Bob Myers and Warriors co-owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.