Warriors on a roll; Cavaliers rebound

OAKLAND, California – Nah, that slow start didn’t last long for the defending NBA champions.

Draymond Green knew they’d be just fine.

“We know what we’re capable of,” he said, “we just needed to lock in and focus.”

And Golden State is getting better by the game – balanced, getting better on both ends, doing all the little things that were discussed all summer.

Kevin Durant returned from missing one game with a leg injury to finish with 29 points, leading the Warriors past the Philadelphia 76ers, 135-114, on Saturday night for their sixth straight win.

In Dallas, not much has come easy for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.

Facing one of the worst teams in the league, the Cavs needed a big fourth quarter to hold off the Dallas Mavericks.

Kevin Love had 29 points and 15 rebounds and Kyle Korver scored all 13 of his points in the final period to help the Cavaliers beat the Mavericks, 111-104.

Cleveland took control of the game in third quarter and led by as many as 11 in the fourth, then saw the Mavericks twice cut the deficit to one point. Dallas could never break through, though, missing three shots that would have given them the lead.

With the American Airlines Center crowd standing for most of the game’s final four minutes, Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left that would have put Dallas up by one.

Elsewhere, Washington shackled Atlanta, 113-94; New York blasted Sacramento, 118-91; Houston thumped Memphis, 111-96; San Antonio routed Chicago, 133-94; Denver crushed Orlando, 125-107; Phoenix stunned Minnesota, 118-110; Utah overpowered Brooklyn, 114-106; the Minnesota Timberwolves repulsed the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-90; and the New Orleans Pelicans subdued the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-103.

Back in Oakland, Green did his usual thing: 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals. Stephen Curry took a knee to his right quad muscle – similar to what Durant dealt with – but added 22 points and nine assists to surpass the 4,000-assist mark for his career and Klay Thompson scored 23 as the Warriors pulled away in the second half.

The Warriors have won by 17 or more points in each game of this winning streak, averaging 122.8 points.

Golden State built its first double-digit lead of the night at 86-76 on Nick Young’s 3-pointer with 4:14 left in the third, and rolled from there getting another quick 3 by Young, one from Curry and a Durant jumper.