Warriors romp to record 73rd victory – Spurs edge Mavs

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Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (right), shoots as Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game on April 13, in Los Angeles. Bryant scored 60 points in his final NBA game as the Lakers won 101-96.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (right), shoots as Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game on April 13, in Los Angeles. Bryant scored 60 points in his final NBA game as the Lakers won 101-96.

OAKLAND, Calif., April 14, (Agencies): The Golden State Warriors earned a National Basketball Association record-setting 73rd regular season victory on Wednesday with a 125-104 blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The victory came in the final game of the 82-game regular season and snapped the previous record of 72 wins set by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls during the 1995-96 season.

“It was a great way to finish off what was an incredible regular season,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who was on the Bulls team that held the previous record, told a news conference.

“I don’t think this one will ever be broken. Someone has to go 74-8 and I don’t see it. And I hope our fans aren’t expecting it next season. Now obviously we want to finish off the season in the right way and it’s going to be a lot of work.”

To reach the once unthinkable 73-win plateau, the defending NBA champion Warriors made a record 24-0 start to the campaign, won their first 36 home games, became the first team not to lose consecutive games and had a record 34 road wins.

Any question of whether the Warriors would break one of the NBA’s most storied records was answered early as Golden State, powered by reigning league Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, came out firing against Memphis.

Curry scored a game-high 46 points, including 10 three-pointers to reach a record 401 on the season.

By the time Curry hit his fifth three-pointer of the game with about four minutes left in the first quarter, the raucous crowd at Oracle Arena was on its feet chanting “MVP! MVP!” and the Warriors were well on their way to win No. 73.

Kerr later expressed relief to have his team escape the regular season healthy after chasing a record even though they had the top playoff seed secured.

“Everybody is in a good spot and that was my main concern coming down the stretch,” said Kerr, whose team will host the Houston Rockets in their playoff opener on Saturday.

“I was really worried about somebody getting hurt. But you worry about that every year, the difference was we wanted to get this record the guys wanted it.”

After the Warriors won last year’s championship some implied it was less valid as they managed to avoid certain teams while some of their opponents were hit by injuries.

Rather than shrug off the comments, the Warriors used them as motivation for the current season.

“When we showed up at training camp there was obviously talk about it and we wanted to have a great start to the season which is what we did with that 24-0 start, and from there raised the bar of expectation for ourselves,” said Curry.

“That’s really all it’s about. The expectation we put on ourselves in that locker room. We don’t need any extra motivation but we seem to be getting it a lot.”

Lakers 101, Jazz 96

In Los Angeles, moments before starting the final game of his stellar 20-year career in the NBA, Kobe Bryant was described as “the greatest” ever to wear the purple and gold by fellow Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson.

Bryant, an 18-time All-Star guard who went on to engineer a thrilling, come-from-behind 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz on his much anticipated league farewell, was given a lengthy video tribute before Johnson walked out to center court.

“We are here to celebrate greatness,” Johnson, like Bryant a five-time NBA champion, told the sellout crowd. “For 20 years, excellence. For 20 years, Kobe Bryant has never cheated the game, he has never cheated us as fans.

“He has played through injury, he has played hurt and we have five championships banners to show for it.”

Huge roars then rang out as the Lakers fans gave Bryant thunderous approval.

“For the last 20 years, this man has been the biggest and greatest celebrity we have had in this town,” said Johnson. “He is not only a great and unbelievable sports icon but he’s also the greatest to wear the purple and gold. “So right now we should put our hands together for the late great (former Lakers owner) Jerry Buss for trading for this man.”

Bryant ended Wednesday’s game with 60 points on 22-of-50 shooting as the Lakers fought back from a 15-point deficit at halftime and was again cheered loudly by the fans before he addressed them all from the center court.

“Man, I can’t believe how fast 20 years went by,” he said, with a towel draped over his shoulders. “It’s crazy, absolutely crazy to be standing here on the same court with you guys, with my team mates behind me.

“I appreciate the journey we have been on, there have been a few ups and downs but the most important part is that we all stayed together throughout.

Pre-game, another video tribute to Bryant was played on the Jumbotron suspended from the rafters at Staples Center, ending with the words ‘Congratulations on 20 years in the Purple and Gold’ emblazoned on the screen.

Individual tributes from former team mates and opponents such as LeBron James, Pau Gasol, Stephen Curry, Dirk Nowitzki and Carmelo Anthony were played before long-time Lakers fan and Hollywood great Jack Nicholson wrapped things up.

“You have been an inspiration to us all and LA loves you,” said Nicholson.

The 37-year-old Lakers guard has cemented his place among the pantheon of NBA greats with a career that also includes scoring titles, the third-most points in league history and a league most valuable player award in 2008.

Though his beloved Lakers have spluttered this season to an embarrassing record of 17-65, the worst for a franchise that has won 16 NBA championships, his league farewell sparked huge interest at the box office for Wednesday’s game.

Demand for tickets was as high as a pivotal Lakers playoff game, ranging in the secondary markets from $700 to $10,000. According to Stubhub, owned by eBay and the largest online ticket resale site in the United States, the most expensive ticket sold for Wednesday’s game went for $27,500.

Spurs 96, Mavericks 91

In Dallas, Rookies Boban Marjanovic and Jonathon Simmons set career scoring highs to help San Antonio rally past Dallas despite leaving home four starters and two key reserves.

The loss left the Mavericks at risk of falling to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and having to face the second-seeded Spurs again in the first round of the playoffs after San Antonio’s 4-0 sweep of its Texas rival in the regular season.

Marjanovic, a 7-foot-3 Serbian center making his fourth start, had 22 points and matched a career high with 12 rebounds as the Spurs erased an 18-point halftime deficit in the third quarter and finished off the rally in the fourth. Simmons scored 19.

Kyle Anderson, a second-year player, matched his career best with 15 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. He had 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Raptors 103, Nets 96

In New York, Rookie Norman Powell scored a career-high 30 points as Toronto wrapped up the best regular season in franchise history by beating Brooklyn.

With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference already secured, the Raptors didn’t bring All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, plus Jonas Valanciunas, James Johnson and DeMarre Carroll to the game. They won anyway, improving to 56-26 after coming into the season as the only NBA team that had never previously even won 50.

Powell added nine rebounds and five assists, while Terrence Ross had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Delon Wright scored 18 points. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points for the Nets, who lost their final 10 games and finished 21-61.

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