OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors’ bid to surpass the Chicago’s Bulls regular season record suffered a setback Tuesday as they crashed to a shock overtime defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Warriors, chasing the legendary 1995-1996 Bulls team’s mark of 72 victories, slumped to a 124-117 reverse against the Timberwolves, who have the third worst record in the Western Conference.
The Warriors’ defeat means they must now win all four of their remaining games — which include two meetings with the second-ranked San Antonio Spurs — to get to 73 victories.
The Warriors (69-9) had looked to be cruising to a straightforward win after accelerating into a 17-point lead in the second half.
But Minnesota rallied superbly and a 35-point haul from Shabazz Muhammad — the best of his career — and 32 points from Andrew Wiggins inspired a fightback which left the Golden State home crowd in stunned silence.
Warriors talisman Stephen Curry struggled to find his range all night, finishing with 21 points but making only four of 14 three point attempts as Golden State tumbled to their second home defeat in the space of three games after last Friday’s loss to Boston.
A disappointed Curry rejected suggestions the drive for the record was weighing on the reigning NBA champions.
“I don’t think so,” Curry said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position that it’s a realistic goal and we’ve got to embrace the challenge.”
Cavaliers 109, Bucks 80: JR Smith scored 21 points and LeBron James and Kevin Love added 17 each as Cleveland cruised to a victory over Milwaukee at the Bradley Center, extending its winning streak to four games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo flirted with his franchise-record sixth triple-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 22 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, but the Bucks never had anything close to resembling a chance against the Cavaliers, who shot 54.7 percent from the floor and made 18 of 36 3-point attempts.
Trail Blazers 115, Kings 107: CJ McCollum scored 30 points, backcourt mate Damian Lillard added 22, and the Portland Trail Blazers continued their drive toward a Western Conference playoff spot with a 115-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
McCollum made 11 of 20 shots and knocked down five 3-pointers, including one from the left wing arc that capped a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter and allowed Portland to put the Kings away. That 3-pointer followed three consecutive offensive rebounds by the Blazers and put Portland ahead 106-96 with 2:55 left.
Heat 107, Pistons 89: Goran Dragic scored 107-99 points to lead Miami to a victory over Detroit.
Dragic shot 9-of-15 from the field and was perfect on his four 3-point attempts for the Heat, which remained in fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Spurs 88, Jazz 86: Kawhi Leonard hit a late game-winning shot and San Antonio held off Utah.
Leonard scored 18 points, but none were more clutch than the mid-range jumper he sank to beat the shot clock with four seconds remaining. Tim Duncan only had three points, but he registered his 1,000th career NBA victory.
Clippers 103, Lakers 81: Chris Paul scored 25 points and handed out eight assists in three quarters, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the 10th consecutive time in a 103-81 rout.
Paul converted 10 of 14 shots from the floor as the Clippers (49-28) captured their sixth win in seven games. Clippers forward Jeff Green delivered 21 points off the bench. None of the team’s starters played in the fourth quarter, and all 13 Clippers scored.
Grizzlies 108, Bulls 92: Power forward Zach Randolph scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies snapped their six-game losing streak with a 108-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls saw their dwindling playoff chances grow smaller. They entered Tuesday two games behind Detroit and Indiana for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and have just four games left to play.
Other results: Thunder 124, Nuggets 102; Raptors 96, Hornets 90; Hawks 103, Suns 90; 76ers 107, Pelicans 93.
