PHILADELPHIA -- Evan Turner just had to send a good-natured text to Andre Iguodala after Philadelphia ran its record to 3-0.
Nyle McFarlane Jersey Retro . "Youre next." Hardly. Iguodala tormented his former team with a game better than any he ever played in eight seasons with the 76ers. He made a career-high seven 3-pointers, scored 32 points, had one behind-the-back assist for the highlight reel, and the Golden State Warriors handed Philadelphia its first loss of the season, 110-90 on Monday night. "I got a good look or two, and confidence started flowing," Iguodala said. Stephen Curry had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second career triple-double. The overachieving 76ers (3-1) were one of the early surprises of the season. Iguodala, a former Sixers All-Star, brought them back to reality. Iguodala was sensational, setting the pace early with six 3s and 27 points in the first half. He also made the play of the young season, a behind-the-back, midair assist to David Lee. Iguodala whipped it from the corner at about the 3-point line and hit Lee in stride down the lane. "When I was here, that was just natural to me to make plays like that," Iguodala said. Curry had a perfect view from the other side of the court of Iguodalas catch-and-release pass. "Im sure well be seeing a lot of that on TV the next couple of days," he said. Sixers rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams, the Eastern Conference player of the week, missed 13 of 17 shots and scored 18 points. The preseason Las Vegas pick as the worst team in the NBA, the Sixers beat Miami and Chicago to put them on the brink of their first 4-0 start since 2000-01. Staying undefeated was never much of an option after the opening minutes. Iguodala hit three 3s in the first quarter to torment his former team and help Golden State build a 16-point lead. Iguodala was traded in 2012 to Denver as part of a four-team trade that saw the Sixers land Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum. Bynum never played a second for the Sixers and signed with Cleveland. Iguodala left the Nuggets to sign with the Warriors. Iguodala had scored only 26 points the first three games. "I wasnt even thinking about scoring," Iguodala said. "It just kind of happened liked that." Much like his Philly days, Iguodala was on the high-flying finishing end of a few alley-oops that sparked the offence. He soared above the rim to snare about a 70-foot pass from Curry for one slam. Booed during pregame introductions, Sixers fans were left impressed with his dunks. "You could see how much fun we were having in the first half when he was going off," Curry said. Lee scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half to help Golden State lead 66-42. The Sixers had rallied in the second half in each of their first three games, and never led to open the fourth. They trailed 98-65 in this one. "Its very tough to keep doing it each and every night," forward Thaddeus Young said. "Tonight, it actually caught up with us." Carter-Williams joined Shaquille ONeal as the only NBA players to win a player of the week award to open a career. The No. 11 pick in the draft averaged 20.7 points and 9.0 assists in three games. He also outplayed Washingtons John Wall and Chicagos Derrick Rose in the eye-opening efforts. Curry, who had five steals, simply toyed with the rookie. He shot 7 of 16 and grabbed seven defensive rebounds. After his 10th assist late in the third, he was pulled. Golden State coach Mark Jackson rested his starters in the fourth with the game out of hand, a lead as large as 39 points thanks to 15 of 38 3s. Jackson left Curry in until the final seconds of the third to grab that needed 10th rebound. "Hes done everything right for me, put me in position to be a successful coach," Jackson said. "Its a way of saying thank you. I wouldnt have kept him in much longer, but he deserved it." Turner scored 18 points and Tony Wroten had 14 for the Sixers. Sixers coach Brett Brown left the rookie known as MCW in the game for the fourth quarter. He missed nine of 11 shots and scored only 10 points through the first three quarters before beefing his point total in garbage time. "We were sloppy, we were careless," Brown said. "Some of that was a result of their good defence." Notes: Eagles WR DeSean Jackson was at the game. ... The Sixers failed to score 100 points for the first time this season. ... Curry had two turnovers after entering with a league-high 6.3 per game. His other triple-double came against the Clippers on Feb. 10, 2010 (36 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds). ... The Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak in Philadelphia.
Shawne Merriman Jersey Retro . The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek.
Buzz Sawyer Jersey Retro . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami.HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard didnt think he was aggressive enough in Houstons two losses to Sacramento this season and vowed to attack from the beginning when the Rockets faced the Kings on Wednesday night. Howards plan worked. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds by halftime on the way to a 26-point night to help the Rockets cruise to their third straight win, a 119-98 victory over the Kings. Howard also had 13 rebounds and four blocks and James Harden added 24 points and nine assists before the pair went to the bench for the fourth quarter. "The last couple of games against those guys, I didnt come out aggressive like I needed to on both ends of the floor," Howard said. "Ive been looking at some film and I wanted to get off to a better start. Its not just about scoring. Its defence and things like that." The Rockets took the lead midway through the first quarter and didnt trail again. The Kings struggled after losing top scorers Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins to injuries before halftime. Gay, who tied a career high with 41 points on Tuesday night, injured his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter and Cousins sprained his left ankle in the second. Sacramento coach Mike Malone didnt have any more information on the injuries after the game and said that theyd know more on Thursday. "It was a big loss to lose both of those guys in the first half," Malone said. "Unfortunately, those other guys that were able to play didnt respond. We got our (tails) kicked tonight and were a no-excuse team ... so the fact that we guarded no one tonight has nothing to do with them not being able to play in the second half." Derrick Williams scored 22 points with 11 rebounds and Isaiah Thomas added 20 points for the Kings. Houston led by 15 points entering the fourth quarter and padded its lead with Harden and Howard relaxing on the bench in their warm-up shirts. They used a 15-3 spurt in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth to make it 103-76. Sacramento missed eight shots, including three layups in that span, and its only points came on free throws by Williams. The Rockets were up by nine points early in the third quarter before scoring 10 straight points to stretch their advantage to 65-46. Chandler Parsoons and Patrick Beverley both had 3-pointers in that stretch.
Jim Ritcher Jersey Retro. Jimmer Fredette made a 3-pointer that cut Houstons lead to 11 points with about eight minutes left in the second quarter. Cousins went down on Sacramentos next possession when he was knocked to the court on a hard foul by Beverley as he drove to the basket. Beverley stood over him for a second while he was down and Beverley received a technical. Cousins entered the game leading the team in scoring (23.1) and rebounding (11.7). He scored just two points before getting hurt, snapping a streak of 30 straight games with at least 10 points. The Rockets used a 6-2 spurt after that to extend their lead to 44-29. Sacramento got within eight two times after that in the second quarter, but Howard scored six points with two alley-oop dunks in the last 1 1/2 minutes of the first half to help the Rockets lead 55-44 at the break. The Kings were up by five points early before Houston used a 14-5 run to take a 21-17 lead with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Gay, who entered the game averaging 20.2 points, was injured at the beginning of that run, which was powered by eight points from Harden. Houston coach Kevin McHale was impressed with Hardens work on Wednesday night. "He started getting to the rim," McHale said. "I thought we were settling for a lot and playing East and West. We told them to get to the hole and put pressure on the basket and they did." Gay has started all 21 games for the Kings since being traded from Toronto on Dec. 9. Aaron Gray received a flagrant foul soon after that when he grabbed Harden as he was heading to the basket. Harden made both free throws as part of an 8-2 run that put the Rockets up 29-22 at the end of the first. Omri Casspi added 20 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds and Parsons added 19 points with 10 rebounds. NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones missed his second straight game with a deep thigh bruise and Ronnie Brewer sat out with a sore calf. ... Sacramentos Quincy Acy and Harden both received technical fouls on the same play in the third quarter. ... Thomas has made at least one 3-pointer in 35 straight games, tying the fourth-longest streak in franchise history. ' ' '