Stephen Curry

Most NBA players still get excited to play in Madison Square Garden. Golden State's Stephen Curry channeled that extra energy into a NBA season-high 54-point performance Wednesday night. Curry was 18 of 28 from the field and finished one shy of the NBA record with 11 three-pointers made in 13 attempts. Unfortunately for him, the Warriors lost to the New York Knicks, 109-105. Playing all 48 minutes, Curry finished with seven assists and six rebounds while passing his previous career best of 42 points, and eclipsing Kevin Durant's 52-point performance that had been the best in the NBA this season.

— Most San Antonio Spurs possessions start with Kawhi Leonard setting up in the corner. It's good strategy for a small forward whose career three-point accuracy in the playoffs is better than that of Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. It's also symbolic of his basketball career. You see, it feels as if everyone puts Kawhi in the corner. He was the overlooked star at Riverside King High who went to San Diego State while less talented players in his area went to UCLA.

Lakers 118 - Warriors 116 (end of regulation) The Lakers may have won their most important game of the season, but in the process lost Kobe Bryant to a variety of painful-looking leg injuries. After hurting his knee in the third quarter, Bryant left the game for good with 3:08 with a foot/leg injury. Carl Landry missed a wide open jumper and Stephen Curry's three-quarter-court heave just barely missed at the buzzer and the Lakers escaped with a 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Western Conference semifinal No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Golden State Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Stephen Curry averaged 28 points per game in Golden State's victories over Denver in the first round and 17 points in the Warriors' losses. Outlook: San Antonio will have had more than a week's rest by the opening tip of this series, which always comes in handy when you have a roster with players in their 30s nursing sore shins, ankles and necks. Spurs forward Boris Diaw is expected to play for the first time since having a synovial cyst removed from his lower spinal cord on April 12. The Spurs could also get back forward Tiago Splitter, who severely sprained his left ankle in Game 3 of the team's first-round sweep of the Lakers.

When: 7:30. Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland. On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 30-19; Warriors 20-27. Record vs. Warriors: 1-0. Update: The Warriors stunned their followers by trading popular high-octane guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee for injured center Andrew Bogut before the trade deadline. Warriors guard Stephen Curry is not expected to play against the Lakers because of a nagging ankle injury. The Lakers had won six consecutive games at Golden State until a 95-87 loss there last April.

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and made the go-ahead free throw in the final minute after a technical foul on Jamal Crawford to help the Golden State Warriors rally from an 18-point deficit to beat the Atlanta Hawks, 108-104, Sunday night. The Warriors scored 16 straight points in the fourth quarter to erase the big deficit and went on to win their first game against a team with a winning record since beating Boston on Dec. 28. -- associated press

— Most San Antonio Spurs possessions start with Kawhi Leonard setting up in the corner. It's good strategy for a small forward whose career three-point accuracy in the playoffs is better than that of Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. It's also symbolic of his basketball career. You see, it feels as if everyone puts Kawhi in the corner. He was the overlooked star at Riverside King High who went to San Diego State while less talented players in his area went to UCLA.

Kevin Durant is one of the NBA's most beloved stars, but that wasn't enough to keep him from a $25,000 fine for pretending to cut his throat after a dunk against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Durant's score and what the NBA deemed a “menacing gesture,” came off a Russell Westbrook block on the defensive end of the floor during the second quarter of Oklahoma City's 116-97 win over Golden State. Westbrook, guarding Stephen Curry, chased down the smaller point guard and swatted away his layup, sending the ball into Durant's hands.

Warriors 109 - Lakers 103 (final) The Lakers finally dug in defensively against the Warriors but their fourth-quarter run fell short, losing to Golden State, 109-103. After scoring 28, 35 and 31 in each of the first three quarters, the Warriors managed just 15 points in the final 12 minutes. The Lakers closed a 25-point deficit to just six late in the fourth but ultimately ran out of time. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 36 points on 11-of-27 shooting (converting 12-16 from the line)

A simple drug treatment is virtually 100% effective in curing a form of reproductive cancer that is a major health hazard among women in many parts of the world, new research concluded. The disease, choriocarcinoma, is a form of cancer of the uterus that can occur after pregnancy. Although rare in the United States, it may strike one of every 200 women in less-developed countries. Dr.

Kobe Bryant is certain that he tore his left Achilles' tendon. He'll undergo an MRI exam on Saturday, but the Lakers' All-Star guard is expected to be out with what appears to be a devastating injury. "It's a new experience for me," said Bryant, who was on crutches after the Lakers' 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors. "Obviously there have been a bunch of players that have had the same injury. All I can do is look at them, see what they've done and see who had more success coming back quicker and healthier.

The Lakers (42-37) host the Golden State Warriors (45-34) on Friday night at Staples Center. The Warriors played Thursday night at home in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Andrew Bogut will not travel with the team due to a sprained ankle. A Lakers' victory would lock in the head-to-head tiebreaker, which would only come into play if the Lakers don't lose again and the Warriors drop their final two. Bogut's injury might change the equation but the Lakers are still trying to preserve their tenuous hold on the eighth seed.

The Lakers won a game, keeping their playoff hopes alive, but at an incredibly steep cost. Kobe Bryant sustained a probable torn left Achilles' tendon Friday, the Lakers said, scheduling an MRI exam that would likely confirm it this morning. BOX SCORE: Lakers 118, Golden State 116 If ever there was a deflating victory, this was it, the Lakers outlasting the Golden State Warriors, 118-116, at Staples Center to stay ahead of the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant is one of the NBA's most beloved stars, but that wasn't enough to keep him from a $25,000 fine for pretending to cut his throat after a dunk against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Durant's score and what the NBA deemed a “menacing gesture,” came off a Russell Westbrook block on the defensive end of the floor during the second quarter of Oklahoma City's 116-97 win over Golden State. Westbrook, guarding Stephen Curry, chased down the smaller point guard and swatted away his layup, sending the ball into Durant's hands.

Lakers 118 - Warriors 116 (end of regulation) The Lakers may have won their most important game of the season, but in the process lost Kobe Bryant to a variety of painful-looking leg injuries. After hurting his knee in the third quarter, Bryant left the game for good with 3:08 with a foot/leg injury. Carl Landry missed a wide open jumper and Stephen Curry's three-quarter-court heave just barely missed at the buzzer and the Lakers escaped with a 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers (36-34) went winless in Week 21 against two sub-.500 teams.  A short-handed loss to the Suns in Phoenix on the second night of a back-to-back might have made some sense -- but losing an 18-point lead to the Washington Wizards at Staples Center was a debacle. Now the Lakers have 12 games left to climb to the sixth or seventh seeding in the Western Conference -- or at the very least protect their hold on eighth place.  That battle takes shape on Monday with a visit to the Golden State Warriors.

Warriors 109 - Lakers 103 (final) The Lakers finally dug in defensively against the Warriors but their fourth-quarter run fell short, losing to Golden State, 109-103. After scoring 28, 35 and 31 in each of the first three quarters, the Warriors managed just 15 points in the final 12 minutes. The Lakers closed a 25-point deficit to just six late in the fourth but ultimately ran out of time. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 36 points on 11-of-27 shooting (converting 12-16 from the line)