Page 21 - ATD05March2016

SPORTS A21
Warriors match record with 44th straight home win
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, California (AP)
— Stephen Curry and the
Golden State Warriors
matched one record set
by Michael Jordan’s Chi-
cago Bulls as they closed
in on the bigger mark.
Curry scored 33 points in
his return from an ankle in-
jury and the Warriors tied
Chicago’s NBA record by
winning their 44th straight
regular-season home
game, 121-106 over the
Oklahoma City Thunder on
Thursday night.
“That’s an amazing ac-
complishment,” Curry said.
“It’s a compliment to us as
a team, our coaching staff
and obviously our fans who
bring that atmosphere ev-
ery night to give us the ul-
timate home-court advan-
tage.”
Five days after tying the
NBA record with 12 3-point-
ers in an overtime win at
Oklahoma City, Curry went
5 of 15 from long range in
the rematch. But he got
more than enough help
from his bench to help the
Warriors (55-5) move 50
games above .500 in their
quest to break the Bulls’
single-season mark for vic-
tories.
The Bulls won 44 consecu-
tive home games from
March 30, 1995, until April
4, 1996. That helped them
set the record with 72 wins
in 1995-96, a mark the War-
riors remain on pace to
surpass after beating the
Thunder for the third time
in as many tries this season. beating Canada to take
Kevin Durant scored 32
points, Russell Westbrook
had 22 and Serge Ibaka
added 20 for the Thunder,
who have lost six of eight
since the All-Star break.
SPURS 94, PELICANS 86
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana,
(AP) — Kawhi Leonard
capped a 30-point, 11-re-
bound performance with a
huge 3-pointer in the final
minute as the San Antonio
Spurs extended their win-
ning streak to seven games
with a 94-86 victory over
the New Orleans Pelicans
on Thursday night.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 26
points and Danny Green
scored 11 for the Spurs,
who trailed 86-82 before
closing the game on a 12-0
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) scores past Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka (9)
during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Oakland, Calif.
Golden State won 121-106.
run during the final 3:10.
Leonard was 12-of-22
shooting, including 6 for 10
from 3-point range.
The Pelicans missed their
last six shots and allowed
the Spurs to grab a pair of
critical offensive rebounds
that led to five second-
United States wins women’s team pursuit in London
LIZ BYRNES
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — The United
States won its first medal
of the track cycling world
championships on Friday,
gold in the women’s team
pursuit. The quartet of Sar-
ah Hammer, Kelly Catlin,
Chloe Dygert and Jennifer
Valente led from start to fin-
ish to cross the line in 4 min- scene of her two Olympic
utes, 16.802 seconds.
“It’s my eighth world title
but my first team title, I
have been waiting my
whole career to get a team
title,” Hammer said. “Being
a world champion is great
but doing it in a team, there
is nothing like that. No one
is on the track by them-
selves, there is someone in
front of you, there is some-
one behind you, we are all
one unit working together.”
chance points during San
Antonio’s game-ending
run.
HEAT 108, SUNS 92
MIAMI, Florida, (AP) — Dwy-
ane Wade scored 27 points,
Goran Dragic added 25
against his former team
and Miami never trailed on
Hammer was almost lost to
the sport, quitting in 2003
with burnout before being
inspired to return by watch-
ing her former teammates
at the Athens Olympics.
In 2006, she won her first
world medal with gold in
the individual pursuit in Bor-
deaux, France.
Ten years on and her medal
at Lee Valley VeloPark - the
silvers in 2012 - was her 13th
at a world championships.
Rio de Janeiro will be her
third Olympics but she is un-
certain of what the future
holds after that.
“I am not sure but I am not
going to go for that much
longer and that is a cool
thing.
“These girls are starting their Olympics at age 26 with
careers and I get to be a
part of that which is pretty
special. This is great and
Saturday 5 March 2016
scoring 15 of his 34 points in
the fourth quarter. Alex Len
had 12 points and 13 re-
bounds for Phoenix, which
tied a club record by los-
ing its 17th consecutive
road game. The Suns have
dropped 30 of 33 overall.
KINGS 104, MAVERICKS 101
DALLAS, Texas, (AP) — Ra-
jon Rondo had 18 points
and 12 assists in his first
game in Dallas since an
ugly split with the Mavericks
last season as Sacramento
ended a 22-game regular-
season losing streak on his
old home floor.
Booed almost every time
he touched the ball, Ron-
do was the steady hand
the Kings needed late. He
missed a January loss at
Dallas when Sacramento
blew a lead in double
overtime to keep alive the
Mavericks’ longest home
winning streak against one
opponent.
DeMarcus Cousins had 22
points and 13 rebounds as
the Kings snapped a four-
game losing streak with just
their fifth win in the past 17
games.
Chandler Parsons scored
28 to lead the Mavericks,
who had a three-game
winning streak snapped
in the finale of a six-game
homestand, their longest
of the season.
Associated Press
the way to beating Phoenix
for its third straight victory.
Luol Deng scored 12 and
Hassan Whiteside grabbed
11 rebounds for Miami,
which led by as many as 21
in the first half.
Rookie guard Devin Booker
kept the Suns in the game,
we are going to relish this it’s been an amazing ex-
but we want Olympic gold perience,” Simmerling told
in Rio.” The Associated Press. “I
Canadian rider Georgia have worked so hard to
Simmerling took up endur- get to where I am today.
ance cycling less than two I am so honored to be a
years ago but, should she part of such a successful
be selected, Rio will be her team and such a profes-
third Olympics in three dif- sional and positive culture
ferent sports. in Canada cycling.”
Originally a skier, Simmer- The past few days were
ling raced in the Super-G at tough mentally despite
the 2010 Winter Olympics in the team emerging with
Vancouver. a silver medal. “It’s been
Four years later, in Sochi, incredible. Racing in front
she competed in the ski- of this amount of people,”
cross — an event in which Simmerling said. “I never
she is a five-time World Cup ski raced in front of this
medalist. Looking to cross- amount of people - except
train, she took up rowing the Olympics - but I am us-
and then endurance cy- ing that as my strength, us-
cling and now Simmerling ing my mental experience
is on the brink of a third in sport at an elite level to
excel.” She added: “I am
the team announced early trying to be a sponge and
April. learn as quick as I possibly
“It’s been a roller coaster, can.”