UNBEATEN WARRIORS GUN DOWN TWOLVES
OAKLAND, California – Kevin Durant had 33 points and 13 rebounds, Stephen Curry contributed 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Golden State beat Minnesota, 116-99, for its seventh straight win in the National Basketball Association.
Klay Thompson scored 22 points in the win.
Minnesota’s Derrick Rose played five minutes in the first quarter and scored three points, then didn’t return because of left ankle soreness – two nights after the 2011 MVP scored a career-high 50 points in a victory against Utah.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 22 points. Minnesota was outrebounded 61-39.
Butler scored 21 for Minnesota after sitting out Wednesday to rest. Tyus Jones also returned and had eight points on 3-for-11 shooting after missing the win over the Jazz because of a sore right foot.
Continuing their turnaround from a terrible season start, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up their fourth consecutive victory by beating the struggling, booed-at-home Washington Wizards 134-111 behind Russell Westbrook’s 23 points and 12 assists Friday night.
From 0-4 to 4-4, the Thunder are clicking right now, led by Westbrook, who missed the first two games after a procedure on his right knee and sat out the final quarter of the rout at Washington.
And even though OKC was the team playing on the second night of a backto-back, it looked a lot fresher and more active than Washington, which was coming off a two-day break and finally got to see new center Dwight Howard return from a sore backside to make his debut. Howard had 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, three rebounds and four fouls
in 23 minutes.
In other NBA games, it was Rockets 119, Nets 111; Pacers 107, Bulls 105; Knicks 118, Mavericks 106; Grizzlies 110, Jazz 100; Clippers 120, Magic 95; Raptors 107, Suns 98.