The Oklahoma City Thunder fell at home to the Toronto Raptors, as did the San Antonio Spurs against the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Golden State Warriors won the game postponed by the crisis in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Thunder (37-10) suffered their second consecutive loss and third in the last five games for the reigning champions, who are also by far the best team at the moment.
Stephen Curry shares an emotional moment with Klay Thompson despite Warriors loss to the Mavs
The Raptors (29-19) stormed into Oklahoma with 23 points and 11 rebounds from Immanuel Quickley and thus maintain third place in the Eastern Conference.
For Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, his 117th game with 20 or more points, very close to reaching Wilt Chamberlain’s streak of 126 games.
Pelicans snatch victory
The Spurs (31-15) were surprised by the Pelicans (12-36), who are last in the West, but were led by Zion Williamson with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pelicans had amassed a 20-point lead in the third quarter that saw the Spurs, with 16 points and 16 rebounds from Victor Wembanyama, tear down in the blink of an eye.
But after opening the final quarter with a 24-5 run and taking the lead, having done the hard part, San Antonio allowed New Orleans to respond with another 3-17 run for the final 95-104 score.
The Spurs are second in the West, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Steve Kerr: “It was one of the weirdest and saddest games I’ve ever been involved in”
The Warriors defeated the Timberwolves 85-111 and Stephen Curry became the 20th all-time leading scorer in the NBA, surpassing John Havlicek with 26,396 points.
It was also Golden State’s (26-19) first win since Jimmy Butler ended their season.
However, the game left a bitter taste in the mouth of Warriors coach Steve Kerr: “The feeling in the stands was very strange; it was one of the strangest and saddest games I have ever experienced, and you could feel it in the atmosphere, completely subdued.”
The meeting was postponed on Saturday after a man was shot dead by federal agents as part of the immigration operation deployed by Donald Trump’s government, an event that sparked mass protests in Minneapolis.
“You could tell they were dealing with everything that’s happened and what the city has been through. It was a tough night. We won and we’re happy, but the atmosphere was tough,” Kerr added.
The Warriors and Timberwolves will play again tomorrow, also in Minneapolis.
Pistons’ stroll in Sacramento
Cade Cunningham led the way with 29 points as the Detroit Pistons cruised to a 139-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Pistons (33-11) are the leaders in the East, ahead of the Boston Celtics (28-17) and the Raptors.
In addition to the 29 points, Cunningham, who was selected for the All-Star Game as one of the top five players in the East, grabbed five rebounds and dished out 11 assists. Eight Pistons players finished in double figures in Sacramento.
With a practically opposite record (12-35), the Kings, with five straight losses, are second to last in the West, just one loss less than the Pelicans.
Also on Sunday, the Clippers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 126-89 in Los Angeles, after holding Jordi Fernandez’s team to 37 points at halftime. The Miami Heat defeated the Phoenix Suns 102-111 with 20 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Two matches postponed due to cold and snow
In addition, the Memphis Grizzlies-Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks-Dallas Mavericks games were postponed due to the severe cold and snow storm that is hitting much of the United States.
