LA Lakers beaten by Minnesota Timberwolves who were led by Karl-Anthony Towns
Friday 25 January 2019 12:04, UK
The LA Lakers, still without the injured LeBron James, fell to defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Karl-Anthony Towns did the majority of the damage for the Timberwolves, ensuring a 120-105 win.
Towns racked up 27 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal inside just 31 minutes.
The Lakers were winning, and Towns was having trouble conceding fouls, midway through the third quarter. But Towns led the Timberwolves' rally in the final stages.
Andrew Wiggins went just nine-of-23 with 23 points but his accuracy improved in the fourth quarter and, alongside Towns, helped the Timberwolves overcome the Lakers.
Earlier, Brandon Ingram scored 20 for the Lakers and Rajon Rondo added 15.
The Wolves, still under interim coach Ryan Saunders, played the second half without Derrick Rose who went off injured. They are now 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Golden State Warriors 126-118 Washington Wizards
NBA champions the Golden State Warriors are in the best form of their season after a ninth consecutive win.
Steph Curry scored 38 and Kevin Durant added 21 points.
Trevor Ariza scored 27 points while Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky recorded double-doubles to briefly bring the Wizards within two points of the Warriors during the fourth quarter, but it was not enough.
By this point the Warriors had opted to rest Curry and Durant on the bench, but saw replacement Klay Thompson struggle with just nine points.
Ultimately Curry and Durrant's early efforts, which helped the Warriors to 37 points inside the first quarter, were enough.
Curry's shooting was 14-24. Durant finished with 21 points on 9-18 shooting, two rebounds, five assists, two steals, and three blocks.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks paid tribute to Durant, whom he coached at Oklahoma City Thunder, saying: "Nobody in the league's history can dribble the ball at that size.
"And to be able to get the shot off with those dribbles, I mean his moves are flawless. He has been programmed to get better every day. He has that insatiable desire to improve every single day and that's what makes him one of the greatest players to ever play."
Oklahoma City Thunder 122-116 New Orleans Pelicans
Russell Westbrook's triple-double, his second in as many games, led the Thunder to victory.
Westbrook totalled 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists. His 15th triple-double of the season is the most in the NBA.
Paul George added 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Steven Adams scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Thunder have now won four in a row. The Pelicans, who were without their star man Anthony Davis, have lost four out of five.
Phoenix Suns 106-120 Portland Trail Blazers
Jake Layman was the standout performer for Portland with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 33 minutes.
Damian Lillard scored 24 points for Portland, CJ McCollom added 20 more and Seth Curry came off the bench to score 17 of his own.
