Stephen Curry hit the first buzzer-beating game-winner of his NBA career to help the Golden State Warriors to a dramatic win over the Houston Rockets.
The sides were tied at 103-apiece as the 33-year-old drove into the lane, created space and made the winning shot to seal a 105-103 victory.
“About time!” he told an on-court TV interviewer. “That’s my first one!”
Curry, who finished with 22 points, had earlier missed two three-pointers as the game reached its climax.
Earlier this season, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player broke the league’s all-time record for three-pointers.
After losing in overtime to the Indiana Pacers last time out, the Warriors made a slow start with Curry himself missing nine of his 10 attempts from the field in the first half and he let his frustration show when he kicked a courtside chair.
The Warriors trailed 54-43 at halftime, but scored 33 points in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with the score level at 76-76.
With 11.5 seconds remaining after Houston’s Garrison Matthews missed a three-pointer, Golden State got the rebound and on the inbounds after a timeout got the ball to Curry who worked his magic.
“This whole game was crazy,” he added. “Back to back, we were kind of stuck in the mud and trying to find our way through it.”
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from their embarrassing loss to the Indiana Pacers with a 116-105 victory at the Orlando Magic.
LeBron James scored 29 points while Carmelo Anthony added 23 points off the bench, 19 of them in the second half and Russell Westbrook had 18 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Brooklyn Nets regained the lead in the Eastern Conference with a 117-102 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio as the Chicago Bulls lost top spot following a 94-90 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks.
BBC
