The Golden State Warriors hit an unexpected obstacle on their quest for a record 73 wins, blowing a 17-point lead and losing 124-117 in overtime to the last-placed Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Shabazz Muhammad scored a career-high 35 points and Andrew Wiggins had 32 as Minnesota prevented Golden State (69-9) from becoming the second team to win 70 games in a season. The Warriors must win their final four games to break the single-season wins record of 72 set by Chicago in 1995-1996.
Stephen Curry had a rare off-shooting night as Golden State took their third loss against a team currently in last place in the division, following earlier defeats at Milwaukee in December last year and at the Los Angeles Lakers last month.
Photo: AFP
However, this one came at home, where the Warriors had won a record 54 straight regular-season games before falling to Boston on Friday last week.
SPURS 88, JAZZ 86
Kawhi Leonard made the go-ahead jumper with 4.9 seconds left and scored 18 points as San Antonio beat Utah, giving Tim Duncan his 1,000th regular-season victory.
Rodney Hood missed the potential winning three-pointer at the buzzer as Utah fell a half-game behind Dallas for seventh place in the Western Conference. The Jazz remained in the No. 8 slot and a half-game ahead of the Houston Rockets.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Manu Ginobili each added 14 points in the Spurs’ franchise-record 65th victory. They visit Golden State today.
Duncan became the third player with 1,000 victories in the regular season, following Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish. Duncan is the career leader in victories with one team.
Hood finished with 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter.
THUNDER 124, NUGGETS 102
Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists to become the first player with 17 triple-doubles in a season in 27 years, helping Oklahoma City beat Denver.
Westbrook has the highest total since Magic Johnson had 17 for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988-1989. Westbrook, who had seven last month, has 35 in his career, putting him second behind LeBron James for most among active players.
Kevin Durant had 26 points and eight assists for Oklahoma City. The Thunder are locked into the No. 3 seed in the West with four games left.
Gary Harris led the Nuggets with 17 points, while rookie Emmanuel Mudiay had 15. Denver have lost three in row and six straight to Oklahoma City.
RAPTORS 96, HORNETS 90
DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, while Kyle Lowry had 12 of his 21 in the fourth quarter as Toronto handed Charlotte back-to-back losses for the first time in more than two months.
Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Corey Joseph added 11 points, including two key free throws in the closing seconds, as the Raptors won for the third time in four games.
Charlotte had not lost consecutive games since defeats at Utah and Portland on Jan. 27 and Jan. 29. The Hornets had won 22 of 29 since.
Jeremy Lin matched a season best with four three-pointers, scoring 21 points for Charlotte, while Marvin Williams had 15.
In other games, it was:
‧ Grizzlies 108, Bulls 92
‧ Cavaliers 109, Bucks 80
‧ Heat 107, Pistons 89
‧ Hawks 103, Suns 90
‧ Clippers 103, Lakers 81
‧ Trail Blazers 115, Kings 107
‧ 76ers 107, Pelicans 93
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