LOS ANGELES — The NBA champion Golden State Warriors dominated the New York Knicks 116-95 at Madison Square Garden Sunday with the help of forward Draymond Green’s ninth triple-double of the season.
Green scored 20 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out 10 assists as the Warriors notched their seventh straight victory to improve their league-leading record to 44-4.
He tied Tom Gola for most triple-doubles by a Warrior in a season and helped Golden State bounce back from Saturday’s sloppy showing against the 76ers in Philadelphia, where the league’s worst team nearly rallied for an upset before the Warriors sealed a 108-105 win with a late three-pointer.
Green admitted after that game that in chasing a triple-double against Philadelphia he made too many turnovers — a confession that drew praise from coach Steve Kerr.
“It was awesome that Draymond admitted that publicly, admitted to his teammates that he was going for a triple-double, and it kind of messed with the flow of the game,” Kerr said. “I’ve never heard a player actually admit to that.”
Green didn’t have to press for 10 assists against the Knicks, and once the Warriors got through a low-scoring first quarter in which they had eight turnovers to just seven baskets, their vaunted offense began to click.
They connected on 14 of 17 shots in the second period, led by six at halftime and never trailed after the interval.
Stephen Curry, the league’s top scorer, had a quiet night with just 13 points. With his team up by double-digits he played little in the fourth period.
Guard Klay Thompson helped fill the void, posting his ninth game this season of 30 or more points with 34.
Magic 119, Celtics 114: Evan Fournier scored 24 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Orlando Magic to a 119-114 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Magic (21-25) snapped an eight-game losing streak and won just their second game in January.
Heat 105, Hawks 87: Chris Bosh scored a game-high 18 points, and the Miami Heat won their fourth consecutive game by defeating the Atlanta Hawks 105-87 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The four-game winning streak is the Heat’s first since April 2014. The Heat also scored 100-plus points for the third game in a row.
In addition, Miami (27-21) moved to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, vaulting past the Hawks (27-22) and the Boston Celtics (27-22).
Clippers 120, Bulls 93: Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 26 points, allowing the Los Angeles Clippers to blow out the Chicago Bulls 120-93 at Staples Center.
Guard J.J. Redick scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, hitting all four of his 3-pointers, point guard Chris Paul had 19 points and seven assists and center DeAndre Jordan added 17 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks for the Clippers (32-16), who captured their fourth straight win.
Trail Blazers 96, Timberwolves 93: CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard each scored 21 points as the Portland Trail Blazers held off a late rally by the Minnesota Timberwolves to post a 96-93 victory at the Moda Center.
Mavericks 91, Suns 78: Deron Williams scored 27 and the Dallas Mavericks did enough to subdue the injury-depleted Phoenix Suns 91-78 at American Airlines Center.
Hornets 101, Lakers 82: Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds apiece as Charlotte pounded Los Angeles. — Agencies
