LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors made a statement with an 112-101 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Thursday, clinching home court advantage throughout the playoffs in a clash of NBA titans.
The Warriors joined the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the only teams to win 70 games in a season.
The reigning champions kept their quest to break those Bulls’ record of 72 regular-season wins alive. They must still win their final three games of the season to do so, and the closing stretch includes another clash with the Spurs in San Antonio, where the Spurs are 39-0 this season.
Most importantly, the 70-9 Warriors ended the 65-13 Spurs’ chance of stealing the top seed in the West and shook off any doubts raised by a couple of lackluster defeats in their past three games.
Stephen Curry had a game-high 27 points and the Warriors held the Spurs to just 19 baskets in the first 30 minutes of the first-ever regular-season meeting of teams with 65 or more wins.
Australian big man Andrew Bogut had 11 rebounds and Harrison Barnes eight as Golden State out-rebounded the Spurs 43-32.
The Warriors led by as many as 23 in the third quarter en route to the victory.
Barnes had 21 points and Draymond Green 18 for the Warriors, who shot 54.2 percent from the field and connected on 12 of 25 three-point attempts.
Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 23 points for the Spurs, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Hawks 95, Raptors 87
The Atlanta Hawks avoided a series sweep by the Toronto Raptors to hold onto first place in the Southeast Division.
Jeff Teague converted a late three-point play and finished with 23 points as the Hawks defeated the Raptors 95-87 to remain a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat and third overall in the Eastern Conference with a week left in the regular season.
Heat 106, Bulls 98
Dwyane Wade scored 21 points as Miami improved its playoff positioning with a victory over Chicago.
Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside each had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat (46-32), who moved into a tie for fourth in the Eastern Conference with Boston.
The Bulls (39-40), who have three games left, fell three games behind Detroit in the battle for the final playoff spot in the East. If they fall short, it would mark the first time since 2008 that the Bulls have missed the postseason.
Suns 124, Rockets 115
P.J. Tucker and Mirza Teletovic shared the offensive load and Phoenix dealt a severe blow to Houston’s fading postseason hopes.
Tucker finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Teletovic added 26 points off the bench. Tyson Chandler scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and it was his dunk that capped a late 12-0 run for the Suns (21-58), who snapped a seven-game slide.
James Harden paced the Rockets (38-41) with 30 points and dished out seven assists while Trevor Ariza chipped in 22 points. The Rockets, who are 1 1/2 games behind Utah for eighth in the Western Conference, lost for the seventh time in 10 games.
Timberwolves 105, Kings 97
Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine and Nemanja Bjelica each scored 18 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves put on a fourth-quarter spurt to beat the Sacramento Kings 105-97 on Thursday in the penultimate game at Sleep Train Arena.
Bjelica’s total was a career-best and helped Minnesota back up its victory on the road against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors with a solid win over one of the league’s worst teams. The Kings (31-48) followed up a three-game home winning streak with three straight losses in their building and will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season. — Agencies
