Banged-up Andrew Bogut rested as Golden State Warriors bounced back from their first regular-season home loss in 14 months by belting the Portland Trailblazers and closing on another NBA record.
In a duel between two great point guards, Stephen Curry scored 39 points for the NBA-leading Warriors in their 136-111 home win, just shading Damian Lillard who scored 38 for the Trailblazers.
Curry had too much help from teammates for the visitors.
Draymond Green added 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 13th triple-double, and Klay Thompson scored 21 as the Warriors matched the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls and 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for second-most wins in a season with 69.
They now need to win four of their final five games to break the record of 72 victories set by Chicago in 1995-96.
That chase was dealt a setback last Friday when Boston snapped Golden State's record 54-game regular-season home winning streak.
With the playoffs looming, Bogut was rested from Sunday's clash due to a rib injury but coach Steve Kerr said beforehand he expected to have the Australian centre back for the next game.
"It's not anything that is serious, but it's kind of what I've been talking about the past few weeks with our guys - if they're a little banged up, we'll sit them," said Kerr.
"Andrew is a little banged up...He should be fine for Tuesday."
In Los Angeles, Chris Paul had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Blake Griffin scored six points in his return from a three-month absence to help the LA Clippers beat the Washington Wizards 114-109.
Griffin shot 2 of 7 and contributed five rebounds and two assists while playing 24 minutes after missing 45 games because of quadriceps and hand injuries. The team clinched a playoff spot during his absence.
In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 31 points, J.R. Smith matched a season high with 27 and the Cavaliers knocked down 16 three-pointers while playing without an injured Kyrie Irving in a 112-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
James added 12 assists and eight rebounds and Kevin Love added 25 points for the Cavs who opened a three-game lead over Toronto for the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
In Houston, James Harden had 41 points with nine assists to help the Houston Rockets improve their playoff chances with a 118-110 win over Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin Durant had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder who lost for just the second time in the past three weeks.
Houston remain a game behind Dallas and Utah for one of the two final playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Utah also stayed on pace for the last playoff spot in the West with a 101-86 win over Phoenix.
Memphis' playoff positioning took another blow with a 119-107 loss to Orlando. The struggling Grizzlies lost their sixth straight game, their longest skid since November 2009.
They have a half-game lead over Portland for the fifth playoff seed in the Western Conference.
Boston clinched a playoff spot with a 107-100 win over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant scored 34 points in his final showdown with the Lakers' historic rival, putting up the second highest-scoring performance of his farewell season.
Chicago's Jimmy Butler scored 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and Pau Gasol had 16 points and eight rebounds as the Bulls beat Milwaukee 102-98 to stay in contention for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago are two games behind Detroit and Indiana for one of the last two playoff spots in the East.
Share
