The Golden State Warriors, led by shooting guard Klay Thompson and point guard Stephen Curry, returned to winning form in less than 24 hours and returned to winning ways on Saturday in the NBA.
For their part, the Miami Heat added consecutive wins and became leaders, while the Atlanta Hawks lost ground again.
Thompson had 32 points and Curry added 23 as the Warriors returned to winning ways by beating the Los Angeles Clippers, their direct rivals in the Pacific Division, 112-115 on the road.
The Warriors (49-5) recovered from a loss the night before against the Portland Trail Blazers who beat them by 32 points (137-105), and avoided losing games in a row for the first time so far this season .
Center Draymond Green, who confirmed his great moment in the game, added the eleventh triple-double of the season and consolidates himself as leader in that section by achieving 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Warriors, who saw a broken streak of 11 consecutive victories against the Trail Blazers, remain with the best record in the league and continue with the goal of reaching the 72 victories achieved by the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordal, the best record in the NBA.
The Clippers (36-19), second in the Pacific Division classification, had reserve shooting guard Jamal Crawford as their leading scorer, who contributed 25 points.
But the Clippers as a team did not play their best basketball and even though in the final stretch of the game they had the opportunity to force overtime, the Warriors always had control of the game.
Anglo-Sudanese forward Luol Deng confirmed his resurgence with the best basketball so far this season and contributed 27 points and 10 rebounds that helped the Heat win 114-94 over the Washington Wizards.
With their second straight win, the Heat (31-24) remain leaders in the Southeast Division, with a half-game lead over the Atlanta Hawks.
Reserve center Hassan Whiteside had 25 points and a professional-best 23 rebounds in his return to the field after a one-game suspension for elbowing Serbian rookie center Boban Marjanovic of the San Antonio Spurs. last February 9.
Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic also shone in team and individual play, contributing 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Heat played without star guard Dwyane Wade and center Chris Bosh for the second straight game.
Wade has a left knee injury and Bosh is out indefinitely with a clot in his left lung.
The Wizards (25-29), penultimate in the Southeast Division, had shooting guard Bradley Beal as their leader with 19 points.
Power forward Jabari Parker had 28 points and 13 rebounds that helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the Hawks 109-117 on the road in the second overtime.
The Bucks (23-33), last in the Central Division, stopped a six-game losing streak away from home.
The Hawks (31-26) added two consecutive losses and lost ground in the race for the leadership of the Southeast Division, after the victory achieved by the Heat, who are the leaders.
For the Hawks it is their third loss in a row at their Philips Arena field in Atlanta since March 2014.
Forward Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Knicks snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-103 on the road.
Another key player in the Knicks’ victory was Cuban-American center Robin López, who had 26 points, including 16 in the first half, and 16 rebounds.
The victory is the first for interim coach Kurt Rambis since he took over after Derek Fisher was fired three weeks ago.
The Knicks (24-33), who are third in the Atlantic Division, were able to stop a seven-game losing streak in a row and added their first victory since January 29 when they beat the Phoenix Suns.
The Timberwolves (17-39), with two straight losses, remain last in the Northwest Division, despite Dominican rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns and Canadian forward Andrew Wiggins scoring 24 points each.
While the Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio had 16 assists and nine goals. EFE
Warriors return to winning ways and Heat consolidate leadership
