FRIDAY AROUND THE NBA

Timberwolves 103, Warriors 102

MINNEAPOLIS

Andrew Wiggins scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead free throws with 12.8 seconds left to lift Minnesota to a victory over scuffling Golden State. Ricky Rubio had 17 points and 13 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points to give the Timberwolves their sixth win in eight games as they try to chase down the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race. They entered the night 2 1/2 games behind Denver, with Portland and Dallas also ahead of them in the standings. Klay Thompson scored 30 points for Golden State, but Stephen Curry’s remarkable shooting slump continued in the Warriors’ second straight loss and fourth in six games without injured star Kevin Durant. Curry scored 26 points, but was just 10 for 27 from the field and 1 for 8 from 3-point range. And he missed an 18-footer in the closing seconds that would have won the game. Wiggins missed a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left that would have given the Wolves a three-point lead. After Curry hit a floater for a 102-101 Golden State lead, Wiggins redeemed himself by calmly knocking down two in a row. Before a two-game skid against Washington and Chicago last week, the Warriors had gone a league-record 146 straight regular-season games without consecutive losses. Their next streak lasted just two. The Wolves are playing meaningful games in March for the first time in years, fighting with Denver, Portland and Dallas for the eighth seed in the West. The Warriors are in a fight of their own with the Spurs now 1 1/2 games behind them for the top seed in the conference, and Curry can’t buy a bucket.

Hornets 121, Magic 81

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Kemba Walker scored 23 points, Nic Batum and Marvin Williams had double-doubles and Charlotte beat Orlando for their third win in the last four games. Walker, who earned NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier this week, was 9 of 13 from the field and knocked down five of his first seven 3-point attempts in only 24 minutes of action. Walker now has a career-high 187 3-pointers this season. Batum was smooth, finishing with 25 points and 10 assists, while Williams had 12 points and was a force on the glass with a career-high 18 rebounds. Williams also provided the highlight of the night with a monster jam over Bismack Biyombo on a three-point play. Charlotte shot 59.5 percent from the field and made 10 of 21 3-pointers. Charlotte (29-36) entered the night three games behind the Chicago Bulls for eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and in need of some positive momentum heading down the stretch. This one was never close as Charlotte posted its first wire-to-wire win since April 13, 2016.

Rockets 115, Bulls 94

CHICAGO

James Harden had 19 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, and Houston used a dominant third quarter for a victory over Chicago. Ryan Anderson added 21 points as the Rockets avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Houston outscored Chicago 36-14 in the third quarter — after scoring the last nine points of the first half — on 13-of-22 shooting, including 7 of 12 on 3-pointers. Harden had six points, six assists and five rebounds in the period. Dwyane Wade had 21 points in 25 minutes for the Bulls after missing the previous two games with a left quad strain. Chicago has dropped four straight.

Bucks 99, Pacers 85

MILWAUKEE

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton each scored 21 points, and Milwaukee won their season-high fifth straight game by beating Indiana. John Henson added eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Milwaukee, which clinched the season series against Indiana. They are two of five teams competing for the final three spots in the Eastern Conference playoff race, so the Bucks secured an important tiebreaker over the Pacers. Paul George had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which trailed for most of the second half. The Pacers cut it to 79-76 with 8:23 left before the Bucks asserted control with an 8-2 run highlighted by a 3-pointer and floater for Jason Terry.

Hawks 105, Raptors 99

ATLANTA

Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, including 13 in the final period, and Atlanta beat Toronto to pull closer in the race for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 28 points. He became the first player to score 11,000 points with the Raptors. Atlanta won the season series 2-1 and would win a head-to-head tiebreaker if needed to determine a playoff position. Toronto is fourth in the East, two games ahead of the Hawks. Paul Millsap had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 for Atlanta.

Associated Press