Curry’s 29 pts scuttle 76ers

OAKLAND, California – Stephen Curry scored 29 points on his 29th birthday, Klay Thompson added 28 and the Golden State Warriors used a frenetic fourth-quarter rally to snap a three-game skid and beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-104, in the NBA on Tuesday night.

Dario Saric intentionally missed his second free throw with 2.6 seconds remaining to try to give the Sixers one last shot, but Curry secured the ball.

Curry struggled to knock down open 3-pointers again but came through from deep with 5:38 left and again with a key baseline 3 at 3:42. Matt Barnes hit one a minute later from the opposite corner for a 104-99 lead.

Curry’s jumper with 9:55 to play pulled the Warriors within 90-86 after Golden State trailed 90-78 to begin the final quarter. Draymond Green’s 3 at 8:04 made it a one-point game, and Shaun Livingston gave Golden State the lead the next time down.

Green had 20 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and six blocks for the Warriors, who trailed by as many as 16 in the third.

In Cleveland, LeBron James got his 52nd career triple-double, and that doesn’t even count perhaps his most notable assist of the night.

James had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, Kyrie Irving had 26 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a blazing start to overpower the Detroit Pistons, 128-96.

In other results, Oklahoma ripped Brooklyn, 122-104; New York stunned Indiana, 87-81; and New Orleans routed Portland, 100-77.

Back in Cleveland, James was overpowering at moments, sometimes even against his own teammates. He flattened Irving while grabbing a rebound in the third quarter, but helped him to his feet before dribbling the ball up the floor.

James said he was surprised to see Irving in his path.

“I’m not going to let him stay on the floor,” James said. “I gotta get my guy up and make sure I get the ball up the court before the eight-second violation.”