Warriors bomb Twolves, regain conference lead

Curry delivers killer blow with 36 pts

MINNEAPOLIS – Stephen Curry scored 22 of his 36 points in the third quarter and Klay Thompson pitched in with 28 points as Golden State beat fading Minnesota  117-107 and regained first place in the Western Conference.

Jonas Jerebko added 18 points, Kevin Durant scored 17 points and Draymond Green had 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Warriors (48-22), who bounced back from a loss at San Antonio on Monday and moved a half-game ahead of Denver (47-22) in the race for the top seed. The Nuggets were idle.

Curry went 8 for 14 from 3-point range, pushing him past the 300 mark for the third time in four seasons.

In Sacramento, D’Angelo Russell scored 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a layup with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied from 28 points down in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-121  to snap a four-game losing streak.

In other NBA games,  Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, Montrezl Harrell had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers prevented Indiana from clinching a playoff berth with a 114-109 victory.

In Milwaukee, Khris Middleton scored 30 points and Brook Lopez added 28 as Milwaukee beat  the Los Angeles Lakers 115-101.

In Atlanta, James Harden had 31 points and 10 assists, Clint Capela added 26 points and 11 rebounds and Houston won its third straight game 121-105.

In Charlotte,  Ben Simmons scored 28 points, JJ Redick had 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and Philadelphia held on to beat Charlotte  118-114.