AUSTIN RIVERS

Stephen Curry scored 30 points in his return to Golden State’s starting lineup and the Warriors beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 102-98 on Wednesday night to end the first-round series in five games.

The Denver Nuggets avoided a sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors with a 126-121 win Sunday to send the series back to San Francisco for Game 5.

Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole scored 27 points each, Klay Thompson made six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points and the Golden State Warriors muscled past the Denver Nuggets 118-113 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the playoff series.

Stephen Curry came off the bench for a second straight game and showed he’s healthy at last, scoring 34 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 126-106 for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

With the Spurs' victory in Denver and the Lakers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday night, San Antonio officially clinched a spot in this year's play-in tournament.

Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 20 points to help the San Antonio Spurs move closer to securing a spot in the play-in tournament by beating the Denver Nuggets 116-97.

Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists, and the Denver Nuggets held on after blowing an 18-point lead and beat the Sacramento Kings 106-100.

Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists and the Denver Nuggets avenged an earlier loss to San Antonio, beating the Spurs 127-112.

Derrick White had 23 points, Lonnie Walker IV added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 123-111, snapping a two-game skid.

The Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors canceled their Thursday practices, citing an abundance of caution because of COVID-19 protocols.

Devin Booker and Chris Paul led the Phoenix Suns to a four-game sweep of the Denver Nuggets who lost MVP Nikola Jokic to an ejection in their 125-118 loss Sunday.

Nikola Jokic had 36 points and the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in six games with a 126-115 victory Thursday night.

Michael Porter Jr.’s 3-pointer with 1:33 left in the second overtime helped the Denver Nuggets squelch an epic comeback by the Portland Trail Blazers with a 147-140 win Tuesday night.

Norman Powell matched his career playoff high with 29 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 115-95 on Saturday in Game 4 to even the first-round series.

Nikola Jokic had 36 points and 11 rebounds, the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-115 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Damian Lillard hit eight 3-pointers, including one from nearly half-court, to tie an NBA playoff record for most in a half.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points and led Portland’s 3-point barrage that sparked the Trail Blazers’ 123-109 win over the Denver Nuggets in the opener of their first-round playoff series Saturday night.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, left, lays the ball up as New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel (3) defends in the second half during an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SALT LAKE CITY – Rudy Gobert had 18 points, 19 rebounds and four blocked shots, and the Utah Jazz beat the New York Knicks 108-94 on Tuesday night for their ninth consecutive win. Royce O’Neale scored 20 points, helping Utah overcome a quiet night for Donovan Mitchell. Julius Randle had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and R.J. Barrett scored 17 in the Knicks' third straight loss. … Utah finished with just six turnovers.

Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis (3) and P.J. James had 16 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who outrebounded the Rockets 52-26. Russell Westbrook had 25 points and James Harden had 21 for the Rockets, who got 19 from Eric Gordon and 14 from Austin Rivers. It was 57-41 Lakers at the break, meaning Houston had scored 79 points in its last 48 minutes of basketball. Rockets: Houston is one of the franchises that has overcome a 3-1 deficit, doing so against the Clippers in the second round of the 2015 playoffs.

James Harden scored 36 points and the Houston Rockets ran away from the Lakers 112-97 on Friday night, the second straight round the No. Russell Westbrook added 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Eric Gordon had 23 points for the Rockets, the No. They forced 17 turnovers that led to 27 turnovers and played the much bigger Lakers even on the backboards. The Lakers playing for only the second time in 11 days. Lakers: Assistant coach Jason Kidd missed the game because of what coach Frank Vogel said were severe back spasms.

Los Angeles began putting the ball in Leonards hands and he delivered with eight straight Clippers points before consecutive 3-pointers by Reggie Jackson pushed it to 105-89. TIP-INSClippers: Patrick Beverley had a pregame workout before sitting out for the fifth straight game with a left calf strain. Mavericks: Porzingis missed his third straight game with torn cartilage in his right knee. It was the first game Rivers attended in the bubble but hardly his first time watching his son play at Disney. I just kind of sat and watched the game, Rivers said.

Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Danuel House added 21 for the Rockets, who won the first two games of the series. The Thunder shot 47.8% and the Rockets 47.7% before the break. The Rockets led 93-80 before Schroder made a 3-pointer and Houston's Austin Rivers was called for a foul away from the shot. Schroder hot a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Oklahoma City climbed within 93-92 at the end of the third. Thunder: Shot 61% in the first quarter.

The games start Thursday night at Walt Disney World, and here's 10 things to know as the season enters its restart phase. SHORTER SEASONIf all the seeding games get played, then this NBA season would include 1,059 games a drop of 171 from what was planned when the season began. Its now on pace for somewhere around 25,700 3-pointers which would be just shy of the second-most in a season in NBA history. That would be the record; the NBA had 12 teams finish there in the 2009-10 season. REDICKS STREAKNew Orleans guard JJ Redick has played 13 previous NBA seasons, going to the playoffs in all of them.

The key is can we finish, said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, Austin Rivers father. Whether it be a family problem, a kid problem, a wife problem, anything, there are issues that come in these guys life. Doc Rivers said in a weird way, there can be a positive to seeing players dealing with various issues. I think in a good way in this, the public actually sees that the NBA players actually are human and they do have regular life issues going on, the Clippers coach said. The problem is usually with the life issues you can come back to the team and play the next day.

To the teams in the NBA, this championship might be the toughest one ever claimed. And only one of the 22 teams headed to Disney will be able to say it was absolutely worth the trouble. You win an NBA championship anytime, its a hell of an accomplishment. This NBA season will see the 22 remaining teams all play between 71 and 75 games before the playoffs, and the leagues plan is for a full four-round, best-of-seven-throughout postseason. If you think about the mental toughness its going to take ... its going to come down to talent.

San Antonio Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV (1) drives around Houston Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Walker had a career-high 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs overcame Harden’s 50 points by rallying from a late 10-point deficit to beat Houston 135-133 in double overtime Tuesday. Harden played a season-high 49 minutes coming off a 60-point outing Saturday over three quarters against Atlanta, but he was whistled for two charges in the second overtime. That followed a bizarre moment in the fourth quarter, when officials erased Harden’s dunk with 7:53 remaining and Houston leading 102-89. San Antonio responded with a group effort to beat the Rockets four days after knocking off the Los Angeles Clippers at home.