Warriors Blast Bulls
(Oakland, CA) — Stephen Curry poured in a game-high 33 points as the Warriors blasted the Bulls 143-94 in Oakland. Klay Thomson donated 29 points for the Warriors, who improved to 14-and-5. Nick Young scored 17 off the bench in the victory. Jerian Grant netted 21 points to lead Chicago, which fell to 3-and-14. Lauri Markkanen had 14 points and six boards in defeat.
Rangers Top Red Wings In OT
(New York, NY) — Mats Zuccarello scored 37 seconds into the overtime period to lift the Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden. Chris Kreider scored midway through the third period to tie the score at one. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist logged 40 saves. The Rangers have won three straight and nine of 11. Tomas Tatar scored the lone Red Wings’ goal on a power play early in the final period. Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall assisted on the goal. Detroit’s Jimmy Howard rejected 29 of 31 shots as the Wings fell to 10-9-and-1.
Predators Blank Blues
(St. Louis, MO) — Pekka Rinne stopped all 34 shots sent his way as the Predators topped the Blues 2-0 in St. Louis. Ryan Johansen put Nashville on the board early in the first period and assisted on Austin Watson’s empty-netter in the final minute. Filip Forsberg and P.K. Subban also had helpers in the winning effort. The Preds have won nine-of 10 on the heels of a 6-5-and-2 start. Carter Hutton kicked away 26-of-27 shots for the Blues in the tough luck loss. St. Louis fell to 16-6-and-1.
Purdue Clobbers Arizona
(Nassau, Bahamas) — Number-18 Purdue opened up a 17-point halftime lead and went on to clobber fourth-ranked Arizona 89-64 at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Dakota Mathias led the way with 24 points for the Boilermakers. Carsen Edwards poured in 22 including five of Purdue’s 11 treys. The Boilermakers shot 50-percent from deep and better than 57-percent from the field as they improved to 5-and-2. Deandre Ayton paced the Wildcats with 22 points as they dropped their third straight. ‘Zona also lost to SMU and NC State as it came up empty in three tournament games.
Arizona State Stuns #14 Xavier
(Las Vegas, NV) — Tra Holder dropped in a career-high 40 points as Arizona State stunned 14th-ranked Xavier 102-86 in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Shannon Evans added 22 points for the Sun Devils, who improved to 6-and-0 on the season. Down by 15 late in the first half, ASU used a 15-2 run to enter the break down by two. The Sun Devils then outscored the Musketeers 58-40 in the second half. Kodi Justice donated 16 points in the victory. J.P. Macura netted 23 points to pace Xavier, which slipped to 5-and-1. Trevon Bluiett had 11 points and six assists in defeat.