The Golden State Warriors wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs by beating nearest rivals the San Antonio Spurs 112-101 on Thursday, keeping alive their hopes of breaking the record for the most wins in a regular season.
The Warriors bounced back from their surprise defeat two nights earlier against Minnesota and joined the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls as the only teams to win 70 games. Golden State can break Chicago’s single-season record of 72 wins by sweeping the final three games of the campaign, including a rematch in San Antonio tomorrow.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Harrison Barnes added 21 for the Warriors, who avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time all season. In games following their nine losses this season, Golden State have outscored their opponents by an average of 14.6 points.
Photo: AP
Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points for the Spurs, who are to enter the playoffs next weekend as the second seed in the West.
Elsewhere, Atlanta held on to their narrow lead in the tight fight over third place in the Eastern Conference by beating Toronto, keeping the Hawks just ahead of Boston and Miami, who defeated Chicago.
HEAT 106, BULLS 98
Dwyane Wade scored 21 points, while Joe Johnson added 17 as Miami shook off a slow first half to beat Chicago, clamping down in the final minutes for the ninth win in their past 10 home games.
Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside each had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, who have 14 consecutive games of scoring 100 or more at home — the second-longest such streak in franchise history.
Luol Deng scored 13, Josh Richardson had 11 and Amare Stoudemire added 10 for the Heat (46-32), who remained fifth in the Eastern Conference.
HAWKS 95, RAPTORS 87
Jeff Teague scored 23 points, while Kyle Korver added 14 as Atlanta held off Toronto.
It was one of the season’s best performances for the Hawks, who remained in third place in the Eastern Conference by beating the East’s No. 2 seed.
With Paul Millsap scoring 13 points and Al Horford, Tim Hardaway Jr and Mike Scott each adding 11, Atlanta used a balanced attack to knock off Toronto for the first time in four tries this season.
The Hawks have won 16 of 21 and are half a game ahead of Boston for the third spot in the East. Toronto dropped 3.5 games behind first-placed Cleveland.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each finished with 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 13 for the Raptors.
SUNS 124, ROCKETS 115
Mirza Teletovic scored 26 points off the bench, while P.J. Tucker added 24 as Phoenix dealt another blow to Houston’s dwindling playoff chances.
It was the second straight loss for the Rockets, who entered the day in ninth place in the Western Conference after a loss at Dallas on Wednesday.
Tyson Chandler added 21 points for the Suns, who snapped a NBA-high, seven-game skid.
TIMBERWOLVES 105, KINGS 97
Gorgui Dieng had 18 points and 13 rebounds as Minnesota beat Sacramento.
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