Warriors beat Nuggets, increase lead for top seed in West

Kevin Durant emphatically showed who is still No. 1 in the West, delivering a pair of jarring dunks late in the first half and finishing with 21 points and six assists before being ejected to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 116-99 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the conference.

DeMarcus Cousins had a season-best 28 points, on 12-for-17 shooting, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Warriors (53-24), who have a two-game lead and the tiebreaker on Denver (51-26) with five games to go in the chase for the Western Conference's top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Golden State lost out on the No. 1 spot to Houston last year, but still went on to capture a repeat title.

Durant was ejected with 8:21 left in the third. He became furious wanting a foul call when he airballed a 3-point shot over Paul Millsap, then pointed at and yelled toward official Zach Zarba. Cousins stood between Durant and Zarba, who wasted no time tossing the two-time reigning finals MVP.

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, foreground, drives to the basket against Denver Nuggets forward Mason Plumlee (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

Those were his 14th and 15th technicals, meaning he is one away from an automatic suspension.

Before that, Durant dazzled.

He rebounded Jamal Murray's missed 3 and drove the court, dribbling with his left hand through the paint before switching hands to deliver a powerful one-handed slam. He had another moment before halftime, driving the baseline for a two-handed dunk as the Warriors grabbed a 59-43 halftime lead.

Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton (5) shoots against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

Stephen Curry added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. His 3-pointer with 7:22 left gave him five or more 3s in a career-best nine straight games and moved the two-time MVP (16,236) past Chris Mullin (16,235) for fourth place on the Warriors all-time points list.

Murray scored 17 points after he departed the Nuggets' 95-90 home loss Sunday to Washington in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle and didn't return. Murray, who missed six games from Jan. 26-Feb. 4 with an injury to the same ankle, was closely monitored and played 29 minutes.

Millsap had 11 points shooting 4 of 11 for Denver, which lost for the third time in four games and played the first night of a tough back-to-back with San Antonio visiting the Mile High City on Wednesday.

Denver Nuggets forward Mason Plumlee (24) dunks against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

Durant and Draymond Green had four assists apiece in the opening quarter as Cousins got hot. The big man stole the ball from Nikola Jokic and took it coast-to-coast for a left-handed layup.

Denver jumped to a 20-16 lead before Golden State's 14-4 burst put the Warriors up 30-24 heading into the second. Denver never recovered.

CHAMPS NEXT-DOOR

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) gestures after making a 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

On a night the NBA champs played at raucous Oracle Arena, the World Series champion Boston Red Sox were next-door facing the Oakland Athletics in the second game of a four-game series.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: The Nuggets shot 7 of 31 from deep. ... They are 12-12 vs. the West on the road. ... Denver had won at least two games against Golden State in nine of the previous 14 seasons.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone yells during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

Warriors: Cousins had his sixth 20-point game. ... Curry now has 340 3s, his second-most in a season behind the NBA-record 402 he hit in 2015-16. ... Golden State won the season series 3-1 and has won 11 of the last 16 with the Nuggets — including eight of nine at home. ... The Warriors also have won five of the last eight season series against Denver.

FINED

Draymond Green, Curry and Durant were fined as expected for criticizing officiating for multiple calls late in a 131-130 overtime loss Friday at Minnesota. Green was fined $35,000 for comments on social media that "impugned the integrity of NBA officiating." Curry was fined $25,000 for his "actions and public statements." Durant's fine of $15,000 was for "public criticism" of the refereeing. The discipline was announced Tuesday by NBA executive Kiki VanDeWeghe.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reaches for a loose ball as he jumps toward a row of seats during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

"Not surprised. We know the rules," coach Steve Kerr said. "We know how this works. Our guys knew that was coming."

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Host the Spurs on Wednesday.

Warriors: At the Lakers on Thursday.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris, right, shoots against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP PhotoJeff Chiu)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011.

They can even the series with a victory at home Sunday.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists.

76ERS 125, KNICKS 114

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor overall, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 112, LAKERS 105

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series..

Jamal Murray scored 22 points as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers in dominating style.

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) makes a shot as he gets past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)