Stephen Curry keeps adding to his record late in his career. He scored a season-high 44 points on Wednesday as the Warriors beat the Timberwolves 119-114 at Target Centre.
The big stretch came in the second quarter, when Curry scored 19 points and hit five three-pointers. His first three ended a five-minute Warriors drought, and he scored 11 of the team's first points of the quarter himself. He also made all 16 of his free throws, tying his career high for makes without a miss.
It was his 76th 40-point game, the third most among active players. Fifteen of them came after he turned 35, tying LeBron James for the most 40-point games after that age in NBA history.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, the league's top-scoring first-year player, helped, scoring 26 on 11-of-20 shooting. He's the first Warriors rookie since Curry to score at least 25 points in three straight games. Georges Niang made his first start for Golden State, which has now used five different starting lineups in five games.
The game got tighter than it should have. Golden State led by as many as 24, but Minnesota cut the lead to three late in the fourth. Former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga led the Wolves with 20. Minnesota played without Anthony Edwards, who is out with a right knee injury, and LaMelo Ball struggled, turning the ball over six times and making only three shots.
The Warriors (2-3) have now won two straight. They host the Lakers on Friday in their NBA Cup opener at Chase Centre.