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Hot Curry boils over

Stephen Curry held up his hand and admitted he had been rash after tossing his mouthguard towards an official during the Golden State Warriors' 111-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday morning (Singapore time).

With less than a minute left, Curry thought he had been fouled on a drive to the basket, but reacted violently when there was no call. He was immediately ejected.

Kevin Durant tried to argue in Curry's favour and was sent to the dressing room as well.

It was the first time in his career that Curry was ejected in a regular-season game.

A much calmer Curry said after the game that his ejection was justified.

"I thought I got fouled. My frustration boiled over and I did something stupid," Curry said. "I deserved to get kicked out."

The Warriors got 37 points from Curry and 29 points and 13 rebounds from Durant.

Their double ejection came as the Warriors dropped their second of three games to start the new season, as centre Marc Gasol scored 34 points for the Grizzlies, who continued their strong home form against Golden State at the FedExForum.

Last season, Memphis handed Golden State two of their 15 regular-season losses, including a 110-89 rout in December at the same venue.

The Grizzlies led almost the entire contest and by as many as 19 points in the second half, showing off their revamped, up-tempo line-up.

Over in Cleveland, another powerhouse was also shaking off the cobwebs. Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers lost at home to the Orlando Magic 114-93.

Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points and the Orlando Magic snapped a 17-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.

Orlando led by as many as 37 points and never trailed.

The skid was the longest in Magic history to any one team, just as the winning streak was Cleveland's best against a single opponent. The Cavaliers hadn't lost to the Magic since November 2012.

"They were playing at a different speed than we were. Way faster," said Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue. "They got early confidence and when they got off to their hot start it was hard to put them out. "

Over in Chicago, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds, Rudy Gay had 12 points and Pau Gasol tallied 10 as the San Antonio Spurs added to the Chicago Bulls' early-season misery with an 87-77 win.

The Spurs, who are playing without last season's leading scorer Kawhi Leonard and French star Tony Parker, led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Leonard is out with right thigh injury, while veteran guard Parker will be back only next month after undergoing surgery on his left quadriceps tendon.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo, touted as Most Valuable Player material entering his fifth season, lived up to the hype in the Milwaukee Bucks' 113-110 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

With less than one minute left and the Bucks trailing by one, the Greek star stepped up to the free-throw line - but missed both shots.

Undaunted, he followed up those misses with a steal, a go-ahead dunk and a game-saving block in the waning seconds.

"I wanted the game badly," said the 22-year-old, who scored a career-high 44 points.

"I missed those two big free throws but I couldn't end the game like that. We had to keep fighting and I needed to show the right example, and that's what I did." - AFP

SELECTED RESULTS

  • Utah 96 Oklahoma City 87
  • Houston 107 Dallas 91
  • Miami 112 Indiana 108
  • New York Knicks 107 Detroit 111
  • LA Clippers 130 Phoenix 88
NBAGOLDEN STATE WARRIORSStephen Curry