NBA: Nuggets take 3-0 lead over Timberwolves

LOS ANGELES -- The Denver Nuggets, fueled by a Nikola Jokic triple-double, beat Minnesota 120-111 on Friday to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their NBA Western Conference playoff series.

Jokic scored 20 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and when he was limited by foul trouble in the third quarter his teammates kept the pressure on.

Michael Porter Jr scored 25 points to lead six Nuggets players in double figures and Denver's reserves out-scored the Timberwolves bench 29-10.

They kept the Timberwolves at bay despite a sparkling 36 points from Anthony Edwards, whose three-pointer early in the third pulled Minnesota within three points.

They were down by five with less than five minutes remaining, but couldn't break through.

Jokic, who led the league with 29 triple-doubles in the regular season, said he knows they'll be even more determined on Sunday to prevent a sweep on their home floor.

"We know they're going to go even more aggressive in two days," Jokic said. "So we just need to keep our composure and we know what to expect."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Karl-Anthony Towns leads Wild past struggling Jazz

Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 126-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night in Minneapolis.

Jaden McDaniels added 22 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting performance for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Anthony Edwards scored 15 points and Jordan McLaughlin had 12.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting to lead Utah, which has lost a season-worst five games in a row. Mike Conley scored 22, and Jordan Clarkson had 17 off the bench.

Utah played without Donovan Mitchell (concussion) and Rudy Gobert (left calf strain). The Timberwolves did not have D'Angelo Russell (shin).

Minnesota posted a 40-27 advantage in the third quarter to build a 92-75 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

Conley made a driving layup to trim the Minnesota lead to 54-53 with 9:39 left in the third quarter. From there, the Timberwolves took charge with a 22-7 run over the next 5:22 to pull ahead 76-60 with 4:17 remaining.

Minnesota increased its lead to 19 in the final minute of the third quarter before Clarkson made two free throws to cut it back to 17.

The Jazz never threatened in the fourth quarter, as Minnesota went ahead by 20 points with 9:12 remaining on a 3-pointer by Taurean Prince.

Minnesota led 52-48 at the half.

The Timberwolves opened an eight-point lead late in the first quarter. Jaylen Nowell made a pull-up jump shot to increase the advantage to 26-18 with 52.6 seconds remaining.

In the second quarter, the Jazz went on a 9-0 run to grab the lead. Bogdanovic buried a pair of 3-pointers during the run, and Rudy Gay also drained a shot from beyond the arc.

Utah increased its lead to 48-41 later in the quarter on another 3-pointer by Bogdanovic, this time with 2:23 to go in the first half.

Minnesota closed the half on an 11-0 run to take the lead into intermission. McDaniels and Towns each made a 3-pointer, Edwards and Nowell added baskets and Jarred Vanderbilt contributed a free throw.

-reuters

NBA: Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns placed in COVID-19 protocol

The Minnesota Timberwolves placed star center Karl-Anthony Towns in COVID-19 protocols prior to Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz.

Towns, 26, is the seventh Minnesota player in the protocol. Star sharpshooter Anthony Edwards is one of the others.

Towns missed 13 games last season due to a battle with the coronavirus. In addition, his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died at age 59 from COVID-19 in April 2020.

The latest development hit Towns hard, and he took to Twitter to say, "Can't catch a (expletive) break!"

Towns, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 24.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 30 games this season. He has career averages of 23.0 points and 11.4 rebounds in 438 games over seven NBA seasons.

Towns was highly public about his experience with the coronavirus last season.

"COVID did not treat me well whatsoever," he said upon returning to action last February. "A lot of scary nights."

The other Timberwolves in protocols are Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt and McKinley Wright IV.

-reuters

NBA: Anthony Edwards leads Timberwolves past Heat for fifth straight win

Anthony Edwards had 33 points and a career-high 14 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves won their fifth straight game, beating the visiting Miami Heat, 113-101, on Wednesday.

Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points for Minnesota, which has won five in a row for the first time since 2018. D'Angelo Russell scored 20 points and Jarred Vanderbilt had eight points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds.

Bam Adebayo scored 18 points for Miami, while Jimmy Butler recorded 16 points and eight rebounds against his former team. Duncan Robinson scored 17 points, Tyler Herro had 16 and Gabe Vincent 14.

Miami trailed by four heading into the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 102-99 before guard Kyle Lowry fouled out with 5:29 remaining.

Minnesota responded with nine straight points and moved ahead, 111-99, when Jaden McDaniels scored with 2:25 left.

Edwards, who had six assists and three steals, sealed the victory with a layup with 39 seconds to play. Minnesota shot 18 of 55 (32.7 percent) from 3-point range and 19 of 21 (90.5 percent) from the foul line.

Lowry recorded seven points, six rebounds and five assists for the Heat, which fell to 1-2 on its four-game road trip.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds, headed to the bench after picking up his third foul with 7:28 left in the first quarter and did not return in the first half.

Edwards and Beasley scored nine points apiece in the opening quarter to give Minnesota a 30-27 lead.

Miami opened the second quarter on a 16-5 run and moved ahead, 43-35, when Adebayo scored with 7:15 left in the half.

Adebayo scored 14 points in the first half for Miami, which held a 62-54 advantage at the break.

The Wolves outscored Miami by 12 in the third quarter and moved ahead, 86-82, on Russell's 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the period.

Minnesota forward Patrick Beverley exited in the first quarter with a left leg injury and did not return.

-reuters

Gregg Popovich ties Pat Riley for road wins as Spurs beat Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS — Under coach Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs have been consistent winners. That includes when they go on the road — and anywhere they play the Minnesota Timberwolves.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Spurs held on to give Popovich another milestone victory in a 116-113 win against the Timberwolves on Friday night.


Popovich earned his 520th career win on the road, tying Pat Riley for the most in NBA history.

“We got through some stuff and it’s always good to win on the road,” Popovich said. “It’s always difficult to do, but when you do it feels pretty good.”



The win also continued San Antonio’s mastery of Minnesota. The Spurs have won 16 of the past 18 games between the teams. San Antonio is 59-25 in the series since Popovich took over as coach for the 1996-97 season.

Marco Belinelli added 19 points off the bench for San Antonio, which played without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan because of left ankle soreness.

“Coach Pop said don’t think about it and play basketball, and we’ve got to win the game no matter what,” forward Davis Bertans said.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points for the Timberwolves but fouled out after only 21 minutes. Derrick Rose chipped in 23 points and Taj Gibson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.

Another matchup between the familiar foes was tight throughout, with 27 lead changes and 17 ties. It also featured a heavy dose of fouls on both sides. The teams combined for 53 personal fouls and 67 free throws.

“We’re a no-excuse team,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said. “We made our own mistakes at times. We had opportunities to win. So, there’s nothing on the officials.”

Towns picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half, and again went to the bench. Josh Okogie had six points and Jeff Teague added five as Minnesota used a 14-1 run to take a 77-67 lead.

The Spurs responded with a 13-2 spurt of their own as Bertans hit a pair of 3-pointers.

“We had a 10-point lead. We didn’t close out the show,” Towns said. “We didn’t do what we needed to do to come out with a win. That’s the disappointing thing about tonight. That’s our next step in maturation of our team.”



The Wolves led 90-88 to start the fourth, but Bertans opened the quarter with another 3. San Antonio led by seven in the fourth, but Minnesota clawed back within one with 30.3 seconds left on Rose’s layup.

Belinelli hit two free throws and Rose’s 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Popovich is third in NBA history with 1,224 wins overall. He passed Jerry Sloan for third place on Jan. 10. … San Antonio entered 4-17 this season when trailing after three quarters.

Timberwolves: Tyus Jones missed the game with a left ankle sprain sustained Tuesday at Philadelphia. Robert Covington missed his eighth straight game with a right knee bone bruise. … Andrew Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell for second place on the franchise’s career scoring list. Wiggins has 7,174 points. Kevin Garnett is first with 19,201 points in a Wolves uniform. … After scoring his 10,000th career point on Tuesday, Rose got his 3,000th assist on Friday. … Minnesota announced that Jerry Sichting was hired as an assistant coach. It is Sichting’s third stint with the Wolves. He spent 10 years with the team from 1995-2005 and two seasons from 2007-09.

ON THE MEND

DeRozan said he expects to play Sunday “without a doubt” even though he’s “a little banged up.”

“I pride myself in not missing a practice, not missing a game,” he said. “When you play a lot of minutes, a lot of things accumulate that you’ve got to deal with, so it was kind of good just to get a rest. Don’t play until Sunday, get some treatment. So, a couple days for me is going to be big.”


DeRozan began the day 20th in the league in points per game (21.7) and 13th in assists (6.4).

TOWNS FOULS

It was the sixth time Towns has fouled out this season, and the second time against San Antonio. He entered tied for first in the NBA in fouls per game at 3.8

“I’m going to save my money because whatever I say won’t change anything,” Towns said.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Return home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Timberwolves: Host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Stephen Curry scores 38 to push Warriors past Timberwolves

OAKLAND, Calif. — Steve Kerr long ago ran out of superlatives to describe Stephen Curry.

The Warriors coach isn’t even trying anymore, not with the way his All-Star point guard is playing since coming back from a groin injury.


Curry had 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Golden State beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 on Monday night in Draymond Green’s return to the Warriors’ lineup.

Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Kevin Durant had 22 as Golden State prepared for Wednesday’s showdown with Toronto by earning its fourth straight win.

Curry went 7 for 14 from 3-point range.

“He’s good at basketball,” Kerr deadpanned. “Nothing he does surprises me. Even on a night he gets off to a slow start he finds a way.”

Curry, who recently returned after sitting out 11 games with an injured groin, got going after missing six of his first nine shots. He made a pair of 3s and scored 14 points in the third quarter, including Golden State’s final nine of the period, and then made consecutive shots from deep after the Timberwolves closed to 101-93 in the fourth.

Thompson and Durant provided plenty of support. It’s the fourth time this season that the trio has scored 20 or more points in the same game.

Curry is averaging 31.4 points in five games since coming back from the injury.

“We were trying to do a lot in the first half just because we had another playmaker out there,” Curry said. “We were playing really, really fast and excited. Just had to settle in and make the simple play. In the second half we kind of slowed down.”

Green, the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, had seven points, 10 rebounds and seven assists after being sidelined for 11 games with a right toe injury. He made his first shot, a 3-pointer, and then playfully challenged the Timberwolves to come guard him.


“I felt like a kid in the candy store the last few days,” Green said. “To come back off a layoff like that, I felt pretty good. I really had no issues at all. It’s good to get back to who we are.”

Karl Anthony-Towns had 31 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota. Derrick Rose added 21 points.

“It’s a great team and to beat a great team you’ve got to play 48 minutes,” Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We didn’t do that.”

The Warriors led 12-0 early and got a spark from Green.

After making his 3-pointer, Green had a second bucket on a goaltending call against Gorgui Deng, and then scored on a driving layup. The excitable Green also picked up a foul for setting an illegal screen and jawed at a referee while walking down the court.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Robert Covington scored seven points on 2-of-7 shooting in his return after sitting out Saturday’s loss in Portland. … Rose scored 11 points in the second quarter, and then made an outstanding play to block a 3-point attempt by Jonas Jerebko near the Minnesota bench in the third. … Minnesota has lost six straight to Golden State.

Warriors: Thompson made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half. … Andre Iguodala did not play because of tightness in his right hip. … Curry, Durant and Thompson have each scored 20 or more points in the same game 35 times as teammates.

COUSINS GETTING CLOSE

DeMarcus Cousins practiced with the Warriors G-League team in Santa Cruz earlier in the day, and then was back on the court at Oracle to put in some extra work before the game against the Timberwolves.

There is still no timetable for Cousins’ return from a torn Achilles tendon, but the four-time All-Star center is definitely getting close.

“We want to make sure he’s really comfortable with his conditioning and movement before we put him out there,” Kerr said. “Everything has come along nicely. This is not about a doctor saying he can’t play. It’s more about when he’s ready to go out there and perform well.”

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Play at Sacramento on Wednesday night.

Warriors: Host Toronto on Wednesday night. The Raptors beat Golden State 131-128 in overtime on Nov. 29.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Butler made his move—now it’s Wolves’ turn

MIAMI— Jimmy Butler knows that NBA players can force their way into trades.

Forcing their way into a trade that suits the player, that’s an entirely different story.


Butler has told the Minnesota Timberwolves that he has no intentions of re-signing with the club next summer, his way of saying “trade me now” or “lose me for nothing later.” The Athletic first reported Butler’s decision.

It’s a power move that players can make.

Thing is, it comes with risk — because what happens next is not up to Butler.

This was the lesson learned from the Kawhi Leonard situation, from the Kyrie Irving situation, from the Paul George situation. Leonard supposedly was hoping for a trade from San Antonio to the Los Angeles Clippers. Irving wanted to be sent by Cleveland to either San Antonio and Miami. George was widely assumed to leave Indiana for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Leonard is in Toronto , at least for one season.

Irving got sent to Boston , and is a free agent next summer.

George landed in Oklahoma City, and probably will be there for years.

Not a whole lot of people saw those exact moves coming. But the teams did what was best for them. In all three cases, the Spurs, the Cavs and the Pacers got the best deal they could make.

Now it’s Butler’s turn.


It should be easy to deduce that Butler can see himself with the Clippers, New York or Brooklyn, since all of those teams will have the cap space to give him the $140 million (or $190 million) max contract he’s seeking.

Miami would interest him as well, since Butler has raved about the city in the past and he’s still very tight with fellow Marquette alum and former Chicago teammate Dwyane Wade. Toronto is believed to be on his radar. Playing alongside LeBron James with the Lakers is something that hardly anyone in the NBA would sneeze at.

A person with knowledge of the Timberwolves’ situation said that Minnesota has been talking to multiple teams, gauging the Butler market. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The Timberwolves aren’t exactly in a position of strength, since now everyone knows that Butler wants out and training camps start in a few days. But that doesn’t mean Minnesota doesn’t control how this will play out.

When Leonard asked for his trade, the Spurs had the luxury of time and wound up getting a very good deal from Toronto. The Cavs and the Pacers also had plenty of time to work out something to their likings when moving Irving and George.

Minnesota doesn’t have that same cushion. That’ll eventually lead to Butler being asked why he waited until the final days of the offseason to inform the team of his unhappiness, because not only did he potentially limit Minnesota’s options but he could have limited his own.

“You should always try to get a perennial All-Star,” former NBA forward Caron Butler told TMZ Sports, adding that he thinks Jimmy Butler is “a real winner.”

The Timberwolves can basically make any of the following decisions:



— Move Butler right away and start camp without distraction;

— Hang onto him for a while and see if he changes his mind;

— Work out a sign-and-trade;

— Make him play out the year.

Butler was their leading scorer last season. He’s an All-Star. He helped them end a 14-year playoff drought. Losing him, no matter what they get back, wouldn’t seem to help the Wolves’ chances of returning to the playoffs in a still-loaded Western Conference.

Sometimes, even irreconcilable differences work out.

Houston won NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, led by Hakeem Olajuwon. People forget that in 1992, he demanded a trade in a very ugly situation sparked by the Rockets thinking that he was faking a hamstring injury. They mended fences and won titles.

Most of the time, though, when a player wants out, they get out.

Dwight Howard demanded to be traded by Orlando in 2012, and got his way. Shaquille O’Neal wanted to leave the Lakers in 2004, got sent to the Heat, and then eventually forced them to send him to Phoenix. Chris Paul and Chris Webber have forced trades, too. And it’s not a new thing — Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wanted trades and got them.

Butler got his trade ball rolling.

Where it goes, at least this season, that’s up to Wolves coach and president Tom Thibodeau — whose own future in Minnesota might be hanging by a thread as well right now — more than anyone else.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: James shines as Cavs withstand big night from Wiggins

MINNEAPOLIS, United States — LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 25 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a huge night from Andrew Wiggins to record a 116-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Canada’s Wiggins finished with a game-high 41 points for the Timberwolves which equaled his second-highest point total this NBA season.

James also had 14 assists for Cleveland who sealed their 38th win of the season with 1:39 remaining when ex-Timberwolves player Derrick Williams finished off a fast break layup. The layup came just moments after James nailed a step back three pointer.

Wiggins had help from Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Gorgui Dieng added 12 points, but no other Timberwolves player reached double figures in scoring.

Wiggins got the Timberwolves back in the game Tuesday, sparking a rally after Irving hit a three pointer halfway through the third quarter to give Cleveland a 14-point lead.

Wiggins tallied 19 points in the third quarter.

Cleveland had to make due without forward Kevin Love, who had surgery on his left knee on Tuesday and will be sidelined for six weeks. Love was averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Channing Frye helped fill the void by chipping in with 21 points. Tristan Thompson also contributed to the offence by adding 14 points and 11 rebounds.

This is the Cavaliers’ second win over Minnesota in a two-week span. The Cavaliers beat the Timberwolves 125-97 on February 1. CBB

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors eventually find flow without Green, beat Wolves

OAKLAND, Calif. — Do-everything Draymond Green is fiery, vocal and brings energy on both ends of the court.

On a night the Golden State Warriors were without their emotional leader, it took them a while to find a flow.

Stephen Curry had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Golden State overcame Green’s absence to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 on Saturday night for their 11th straight victory.

“It wasn’t as loud, obviously,” Klay Thompson said of missing Green. “Collectively we had to raise our voices to make up for it.”

Curry shot 13 for 19 with four 3-pointers, while Kevin Durant added 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high six blocked shots — the Warriors’ first time ever having someone finish with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. Thompson scored 23 points with four 3s.

Durant figured he had to do more.

“Especially tonight. We missed Draymond,” Durant said. “We were a little stagnant early.”

Green sat out a day after bruising his left ankle at Los Angeles in a collision with teammate Ian Clark, who also missed the game after being hit in the throat on the play.

“Without Ian and Draymond our bench was thinned out,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Zach LaVine scored 31 points with five 3s, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter on 6-for-10 shooting. He then quieted down and missed five of his next six attempts before a three-point play with 4:03 remaining to make it a 10-point game.

Without Green, Golden State lacked offensive flow and an interior defensive presence against Towns until finding some rhythm late in the first half and early in the second.

The Warriors went off for a franchise-record 47 assists in their previous home game three nights earlier against the Lakers, but managed only 25 Saturday.

Golden State didn’t get its first field goal of the second quarter until 7:41 remaining on Durant’s three-point play.

“It’s good to see that we can step up in a guy like Draymond’s absence and still have contributions from other guys on the floor,” Curry said.

Kevon Looney made his first career start in place of Green and had six points, three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.

Curry’s 17 third-quarter points were his second-most in a quarter this season.

Minnesota handed Golden State one of only two home defeats last regular season, 124-117 in overtime on April 5 — just the Timberwolves’ second win in the last 17 meetings, including Saturday.

The Warriors won their sixth straight home game since a 129-100 season-opening loss to San Antonio, and ninth in 11 meetings with Minnesota dating to 2013.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Former Warriors G Brandon Rush was welcomed back on the video board during a first-quarter timeout, and he smiled and waved. … A night after getting 15 steals — five by Ricky Rubio — and forcing 26 turnovers, Minnesota managed only nine steals among the 18 turnovers by Golden State. … The Wolves will host the Warriors on Dec. 11, and Golden State has a nine-game winning streak at Minnesota.

Warriors: Curry had his sixth 30-point performance of the season, while he, Durant and Thompson each went over 20 points in the same game for the seventh time. … Golden State’s streak of 10 straight games with 30 or more assists was snapped. … The Warriors are 36-7 in the second game playing on consecutive nights dating to 2014-15, including 3-1 this season. … They shot above 50 percent for the third straight game. … Golden State wore its slate alternate jerseys for the first time at home, improving to 24-2 all-time in that uniform.

THIBODEAU’S INFLUENCE

First-year Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau paid the Warriors a couple of visits last season in his year out of NBA coaching, a chance to observe Kerr’s practices and catch up with old pal Ron Adams, Golden State’s assistant and defensive guru.

“It was fun to pick his brain and share knowledge and insight,” Kerr said.

Thibodeau called the Warriors “something we aspire to be.”

“Golden State was a good model for us,” he said of focusing on improvement. “They went step by step.”

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Host the Utah Jazz on Monday for a quick two-game visit home.

Warriors: Host Atlanta on Monday in the second game of a five-game homestand and look to beat the Hawks at home for the fifth time in a row.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Nuggets hold on for 102-99 win over Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota—As Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica let a 3-pointer fly at the buzzer, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone was already preparing for overtime.

“After the last couple games, it’s kind of like here we go again,” Malone said. “To see it actually in and out was kind of nice for us to get a favorable bounce.”

Wilson Chandler scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Bjelica’s 3 rattled out to help the Nuggets outlast the Timberwolves in a 102-99 victory.

Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 18 as Denver erased a 15-point deficit in the first half. The Nuggets outscored Minnesota 45-23 off the bench and shot 48 percent for their second win of the season.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 14 rebounds and Andrew Wiggins scored 25 for the Timberwolves, who gave away a lead of at least 15 points for the third time in four games this season. Bjelica scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s like we have half of the puzzle done and we don’t finish the puzzle,” Towns said.

Denver led by 13 with eight minutes to play, but Bjelica’s scoring flurry helped the Wolves pull within 102-99 with 90 seconds to go.

Emmanuel Mudiay responded with a three-point play and the Wolves missed three 3-pointers that would have tied the game in the final 30 seconds to help the Nuggets hold on. Jameer Nelson had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Mudiay finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

“It was a sloppy game,” said Mudiay, who had six of Denver’s 22 turnovers. “It was a bad game for us personally but we picked it up and we did what we had to do.”

Minnesota led by 17 in the season opener against Memphis and 18 at Sacramento, but lost both games.

Denver outscored Minnesota 33-14 in the third quarter to surge to a 13-point lead, with Nurkic bulling his way to the paint and Gallinari knocking down 3s from the perimeter.

But the Nuggets have been just as shaky with the lead in this young season, including letting an eight-point lead slip away against Portland in the final 90 seconds before losing in overtime.

“The third quarter is haunting us right now,” Wiggins said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Timberwolves shock Warriors 124-117 in overtime

OAKLAND, California—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-place 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 now must win their final four games to break the single-season wins record of 72 set by Chicago in 1995-96.

Stephen Curry had a rare off-shooting night as Golden State took its third loss against a team currently in last place in its division, following earlier defeats at Milwaukee in December and last month at the Los Angeles Lakers.

But this one came at home, where the Warriors had won a record 54 straight regular-season games before falling to Boston last Friday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Parker’s 28 helps Spurs carve up Wolves 121-92

MINNEAPOLIS, United States— Tony Parker scored 28 points in 25 minutes and the San Antonio Spurs cruised past the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves, 121-92, in the National Basketball League on Friday night.

Parker made 12 of 18 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers, and Danny Green scored 18 points for the Spurs, which pulled away with a dominant third quarter.

Anthony Bennett scored a career-high 20 points for the Timberwolves, who had just 10 healthy players after announcing earlier in the day that Kevin Martin will be out indefinitely with a fractured right wrist. The Wolves were also missing starters Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young and backup big man Ronny Turiaf.

Against overmatched point guards Mo Williams and Zach LaVine, Parker sliced and diced the Timberwolves’ defense to death with dribble penetration. When he wasn’t scoring on crafty floaters or nifty little finishes at the rim, he was collapsing the Wolves’ inexperienced defense and finding open shooters for 3s.

The Wolves stayed in it thanks to 15 first-half points from Williams and San Antonio’s sloppy ball-handling. The Spurs committed 20 turnovers in the game.

Tim Duncan had nine points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes and Austin Daye had 13 points and 11 boards for the Spurs.

At Washington, John Wall took over in the third quarter and finished with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the hustling Washington Wizards clamped down for a 91-78 win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Resuming a rivalry that peaked last decade when the Wizards and James’ Cavaliers met three consecutive years in the playoffs, the Wizards grabbed a majority of the 50-50 rebounds and capitalized on the defensive woes that have hurt Cleveland.

James scored 22 points on 8-for-21 shooting, but Cleveland committed 19 turnovers, shot 36 percent and scored a season-low in points.

At Toronto, Lou Williams scored a season-high 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 124-83.

The Raptors narrowly missed matching its largest margin of victory in franchise history, set in a 96-54 victory over Miami on March 19, 2008.

Kyle Lowry scored 20 points and Terrence Ross had 13 as the Raptors wrapped up a franchise-record seven-game homestand at 6-1 and became the first Eastern Conference team to reach 10 wins.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points in yet another efficient shooting effort and the Dallas Mavericks used the NBA’s highest-scoring offense to roll to a 140-106 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks won their sixth straight game as Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons combined for 23 of 33 from the field. Parsons had 21 points and Ellis scored 20.

Kobe Bryant missed his first eight shots and was 6 of 22 for 17 points. Jeremy Lin had 18 to lead the Lakers.

In other games Friday, the Orlando Magic downed the Charlotte Hornets 105-100, the Atlanta Hawks recovered after blowing a 19-point lead to beat the Detroit Pistons 99-89, the Memphis Grizzlies topped the Boston Celtics 117-100 and the Phoenix Suns eased past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 122-96.

Also, the Brooklyn Nets edged the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-92, the Denver Nuggets routed the New Orleans Pelicans 117-97, the Portland Trailblazers thrashed the Chicago Bulls 105-87 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 101-88.

source: sports.inquirer.net