LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors finally got their defense in high gear Tuesday night, limiting the Washington Wizards to 41.9 percent shooting en route to their 54th consecutive home-court win, a 102-94 victory over an Eastern Conference playoff contender.
The Warriors, who held only four of their previous 18 opponents under 100 points, limited the Wizards to one field goal over a 9-minute, 58-second stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters in building an insurmountable lead.
The result was Golden State’s franchise-record-tying 67th win of the season.
Stephen Curry led four Warriors starters in double figures with 26 points as Golden State (67-7) pulled five games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the race for top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.
The win was the Warriors’ 10th in their past 11 meetings with the Wizards, who fell into 10th place in the Eastern playoff chase. Washington (36-38) sits three games behind the Indiana Pacers (39-35), who currently reside in the eighth and final postseason slot.
Rockets 106, Cavaliers 100: James Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer in the corner with 17 seconds left capped a furious second-half rally Tuesday, giving the Houston Rockets a 106-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on a night that LeBron James rested.
The Cavs fell to 1-3 this season without James and 4-13 since he returned to Cleveland before last season. This time, they led by 20 points early in the third quarter and by 13 entering the fourth before giving it all back.
Pistons 88, Thunder 82: Marcus Morris scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons snapped Oklahoma City’s eight-game winning streak with an 88-82 victory at The Palace. The Thunder rested All-Star small forward Kevin Durant and power forward Serge Ibaka after defeating the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Magic 139, Nets 105: Reserve forward Andrew Nicholson had a career-high 24 points and seven teammates also scored in double figures to lead the Orlando Magic to an easy 139-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The Magic, who beat the Chicago Bulls by 21 points Saturday, won back-to-back games for the first time since early February. The Nets (21-52) lost their second consecutive game after falling Monday night in Miami.
Bulls 98, Pacers 96: Jimmy Butler sank a pull-up jumper with 3.7 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 98-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. A 3-point shot by Indiana’s C.J. Miles bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Hornets 100, 76ers 85: Nicolas Batum had a triple-double consisting of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Charlotte Hornets past the Philadelphia 76ers 100-85 at the Wells Fargo Center.
