Karl-Anthony Towns scored 33 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to their seventh straight win, 104-101 in an In-Season Tournament game on Tuesday that featured three early ejections.
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels were ejected after an altercation early in the first quarter.
Thompson and McDaniels became embroiled in a shoving match near midcourt following a Minnesota possession. Green rushed in and pulled Rudy Gobert away from behind with his arm around the center’s neck.
Thompson’s jersey was ripped during the scuffle, which led to Green’s second ejection of the season and two free throws by Gobert.
Towns also had 11 rebounds and Anthony Edwards scored 20 points for Minnesota, which defeated Golden State for the second time in three days following a 116-110 win on Sunday.
Brandin Podziemski had 23 points and Dario Saric added 21 for the Warriors, losers of three in a row.
Golden State was already without leading scorer Stephen Curry, who was ruled out with right knee soreness.
Nuggets keep Clippers winless with Harden
Nikola Jokić scored 32 points and just missed a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-108 in an In-Season Tournament game.
Jokic had 16 rebounds, nine assists and made all 14 free-throw attempts, including two with 13 seconds left that helped thwart the Clippers’ comeback try.
Paul George matched a season high with 35 points and Harden had 21, as the Clippers lost their sixth in a row.
Haliburton stars as Pacers cool 76ers
Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 15 assists and Obi Toppin added 27 points to help the Indiana Pacers snap the Philadelphia 76ers’ eight-game winning streak, 132-126 in an In-Season Tournament game.
Myles Turner scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Indiana, which has won four of five and bounced back from Sunday’s 137-126 loss to Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid scored 39 points and De’Anthony Melton had 30 as the 76ers suffered their first loss since a season-opening defeat at Milwaukee.
Haliburton was 11 of 18 from the field and 7 for 12 from 3-point range. He had 32 assists and no turnovers in two games against Philadelphia.