National Basketball Association
Golden State 110, Minnesota 101
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 11, 2015
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Officials:
#49 Tom Washington, #11 Derrick Collins, #46 Ben Taylor
Attendance:
19596
By The Sports Xchange
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Point guard Stephen Curry padded the statistics in his Most Valuable Player candidacy with his 17th 30-point game of the season, pouring in 34 in the Golden State Warriors' 110-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
The win was the Warriors' 16th straight at home and a franchise-record 37th at Oracle Arena this season, breaking the previous mark of 36 set in 1975-76.
It also was the 65th victory of the season for Golden State (65-15), which became just the 17th team in NBA history to win 65 or more games in one season.
Curry was the driving force in the win, hitting 5 of 11 3-point attempts and 11 of 21 shots from the field en route to his team-high point total.
The All-Star's first 3-pointer of the night was the 500th of the season for Curry and shooting guard Klay Thompson combined, making them the first duo in NBA history to reach that milestone.
Thompson had three 3-pointers among his 10 hoops, allowing the backcourt tandem to increase their league-leading total of successful 3-pointers to 507.
Power forward Draymond Green (13 points, 14 rebounds) and small forward Harrison Barnes (13 points, 12 rebounds) contributed double-doubles for the Warriors, who completed a 14-0 season record on Saturdays while at the same time finishing off a season-series sweep of the Timberwolves.
Point guard Zach LaVine bombed in six 3-pointers en route to club rookie-record 37 points to lead the Timberwolves, who were playing for the second time in two nights. They lost 106-98 Friday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
A 10th consecutive loss was a net gain for the Timberwolves (16-64) in one area. Coupled with New York's win at Orlando earlier in the night, Minnesota fell into a tie with the Knicks for the worst record in the league with two games remaining.
Before the game, the Timberwolves announced that point guard Ricky Rubio will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Monday in Van Nuys, Calif. The team’s assist leader played only 22 games this season.
Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Wiggins had 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Minnesota, which was playing its final road game of the season. The Timberwolves finished the year 7-34 away from home.
Curry had nine of his 34 points in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beating, step-back 3-pointer that gave Golden State its largest lead of the game to that point at 86-69.
But the Timberwolves would not go away easily. LaVine exploded for 17 points in the first 7:45 of the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly rallying Minnesota within 94-93 with 4:15 to go.
Thompson's first 3-pointer of the night pushed the Golden State lead back to four, and he added another 3 during an 13-3 run that allowed the Warriors to re-establish command at 107-96 in the final minute.
NOTES: Warriors PG Stephen Curry and SG Klay Thompson have established an NBA record for combined 3-pointers each of the last three seasons, going from 483 in 2012-13 to 484 last year to their current figure this season. Previously, the record had been 435, set by SG Nick Anderson and SF Dennis Scott of the Orlando Magic in 1995-96. ... The Warriors began Saturday needing at least two wins in their final three games to become the first team in NBA history to win at least 50 games one season and then improve by at least 14 games the next. The Warriors went 51-31 last season. ... The Warriors have not lost a season series to the Timberwolves in any of the past 10 seasons. ... Regarding PG Ricky Rubio's upcoming ankle surgery Monday, Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said, "He is very important. He has had people that have lookd at him, and the last person that looked at him thought they needed to do arthroscopic." ... Should Minnesota and the New York Knicks finish in a tie for the worst record in the NBA, a blind draw will
Top Game Performances
Minnesota |
|
Golden State |
Zach Lavine 37 |
Scoring |
Stephen Curry 34 |
Andrew Wiggins 9 |
Assists |
Stephen Curry 7 |
Justin Hamilton 10 |
Rebounds |
Draymond Green 14 |
Justin Hamilton 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Stephen Curry 7 |
Andrew Wiggins 3 |
Steals |
Stephen Curry 4 |
Justin Hamilton 3 |
Blocks |
Harrison Barnes 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Minnesota
|
101 |
44.3 |
11-24 |
20-26 |
27 |
40 |
4 |
9 |
15 |
Golden State
|
110 |
45.2 |
11-31 |
15-21 |
28 |
50 |
5 |
10 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Golden State will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Warriors have a W/L % of .831 after a win and .733 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .118 after a win and .222 after a loss.