Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Stephen Curry scored 26 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 111-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, his latest NBA milestone overshadowed by upheaval in Minneapolis. Curry, the league’s all-time leading three-point scorer, climbed into a tie with Paul Pierce for 19th on the career scoring list as he finished the game with 26,397.
A game-time decision to play because of knee soreness, Curry didn’t have his best-shooting night, connecting on just seven of 18 attempts. But he made all nine of his free throws and added seven assists and four of the Warriors’ 20 steals as Golden State led virtually all the way, in a game postponed from Saturday after federal agents shot and killed US citizen Alex Pretti amid the ongoing mass immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Pretti’s death came less than three weeks after an immigration officer in the Midwestern city shot and killed Renee Good.
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“You definitely felt the weight of the city,” said Golden State forward Moses Moody, who scored 19 points with eight rebounds and two blocked shots. “I couldn’t imagine too many different times where that large amount of people are together in the midst of a situation like this, so you definitely felt that.”
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves, who lost their fifth straight. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he felt the home team were “suffering.” “I thought the vibe in the stands, it was one of the most bizarre, sad games I’ve ever been part of,” Kerr said of a contest that opened with a moment of silence to honor Pretti and saw fans calling for the exit of federal immigration officials from their city.
The Toronto Raptors, fueled by 23 points and 11 rebounds from Immanuel Quickley, handed the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder a second straight defeat, 101-99. In a tight fourth quarter, Quickley’s back-to-back three-pointers gave Toronto a 101-97 lead with 1:16 remaining, and the Raptors hung on for a fourth straight win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points but was limited to just three in the final quarter for the Thunder, who still own the best record in the league at 37-10.
Zion Williamson and Saddiq Bey scored 24 points apiece as the New Orleans Pelicans upended the Spurs 104-95 in San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama scored 16 points to lead the Spurs, who trailed by as many as 20 and erased a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to edge ahead by five but couldn’t hang on.
Elsewhere, the historic winter storm pounding the United States saw two games cancelled: the Memphis Grizzlies’ home game against the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks’ game against the Dallas Mavericks in Wisconsin. The Mavs, unable to depart as scheduled after their home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, tried again on Sunday but after hours at the airport, they were unable to depart, and the game was called off.
Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and handed out 11 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons in a 139-116 rout of the Sacramento Kings in Detroit.
© 2024 AFP
