Andrew Wiggins dismissed the notion his star showing in the Golden State Warriors' 123-110 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves was a "revenge game".
The Timberwolves traded Wiggins to the Warriors in February 2020, and the 2015 Rookie of the Year was a thorn in the side of his former employers at Chase Center on Wednesday.
Wiggins had a season-high 35 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes as the Warriors moved to 10-1 in the NBA this season.
But the 26-year-old insists getting one over on his former team was not a primary focus.
"No, not a revenge game, a well-played game against a former team," he said.
"A fun game. The game of basketball's fun. Facing your former team is always one you wake up excited for.
"I'm going to keep it rolling. I'm going to stay aggressive."
There was one moment Wiggins in particular did enjoy, though, that coming with a drive to the baseline and a one-handed slam over Karl-Anthony Towns, who he dunked on twice in the game.
"That's my guy," Wiggins said. "He got me last year, so I got him back."
Wiggins made each of his first 10 shots and scored 22 of his points on the back of nine-for-nine first-half shooting.
"Andrew was just fantastic, the aggression from the beginning of the game, loved his energy," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
"Obviously he was pretty excited to play against his old team. We needed everything he brought us tonight."
The Warriors are top of the Western Conference, while the Timberwolves are down in 13th after a sixth straight defeat.
Brooklyn Nets superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden expressed their pleasure with the team's response after bouncing back to crush the Orlando Magic in the NBA on Wednesday.
After falling to the Chicago Bulls on Monday, the championship-chasing Nets routed the lowly Magic 123-90 on the road in Orlando midweek.
Durant posted 30 points on 11-of-12 shooting, while Harden had a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Nets to their sixth win in seven games.
"That's really what you want to do — finish quarters, finish halves off the right way," said Durant, who had his sixth 30-plus game of the season. "We got to lead and we got some momentum, we got to take advantage. I think we did that."
In his 12 games this season, Durant has been averaging 29.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, while shooting 58.5 per cent from the field and 82.9 per cent from the free-throw line. According to Stats Perform, the last player to reach all those numbers over any 12-game span was Bulls great and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in 1988.
Harden added: "It's a long season. The quicker we can bounce back and get rid of it, the better our team will be, individually and as a collective unit. In Chicago, that quarter [the fourth quarter] was just one of those quarters.
"First three quarters we played pretty solid. We just wanted to come back, get that bad taste out of our mouth and perform tonight and we did an unbelievable job of that. Get some rest and we got two more games on this six-game road trip."
The Nets improved to 8-4 for the season as head coach Steve Nash said: "It was a solid bounce-back game from Chicago. I thought we got a little sloppy at the end of the half where we might have found some separation there.
"They responded in the third and a lot of good things. I thought we had moments on both ends of the floor where we were really good and really diligent with our game plans. I was happy with it and the guys did very well."
The Los Angeles Lakers survived to outlast the high-flying Miami Heat 120-117 in overtime as Russell Westbrook led the way in the NBA.
Westbrook posted a triple-double of 25 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, while team-mate Anthony Davis scored 24 points and collected 13 rebounds to fuel the Lakers (7-5) in the continued absence of LeBron James on Wednesday.
The Lakers had trailed 102-93 with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before rallying to force OT.
Malik Monk, who had a team-high 27 points, scored five of the Lakers' eight points in overtime to secure victory at Staples Center.
Double-doubles from Bam Adebayo (28 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and four assists) and Kyle Lowry (18 points and 11 assists) were not enough for the Heat (7-4), who lost Jimmy Butler to injury.
Durant reaches MJ levels, Wiggins' Warriors win 10th game
The Brooklyn Nets (8-4) crushed the Orlando Magic (3-9) 123-90 behind Kevin Durant's 30 points on 11-of-12 shooting. In his 12 games this season, Durant has been averaging 29.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, while shooting 58.5 per cent from the field and 82.9 per cent from the free-throw line. According to Stats Perform, the last player to reach all those numbers over any 12-game span was Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in 1988. James Harden had his 59th career triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Andrew Wiggins flexed his muscles against former team the Minnesota Timberwolves, putting up 35 points to inspire the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors (10-1) to a 123-110 victory. Anthony Edwards' career-high 48 points were not enough for the Timberwolves (3-7).
Defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks (6-6) blew a 24-point lead before overcoming the New York Knicks (7-5) 112-100. Giannis Antetokounmpo (15 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists) fell short of a triple-double.
Reeling Pelicans lose eighth straight
The New Orleans Pelicans' season went from bad to worse on Wednesday following a 108-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-6). New Orleans – without star pair Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram – have lost eight games in a row to be a league-worst 1-11.
Damian Lillard claims officiating in the NBA this season has been "unacceptable", as he did not expect to be impacted by the league's foul rule change.
A new interpretation of the foul rule in 2021-22 has seen a "change in the officiating of overt, abrupt or abnormal non-basketball moves by offensive players with the ball in an effort to draw fouls", essentially meaning fewer trips to the foul line for certain players.
Portland Trail Blazers star Lillard had attempted 484 free throws last year, the fifth-most in the NBA.
But that figure has dropped from 7.2 per game all the way down to 3.2 following the officiating changes, a huge factor in Lillard's points output decreasing from an elite 28.8 to 19.3.
Only in his rookie season has the point guard scored fewer points per game, while he has never averaged fewer free throw attempts.
Given Lillard scored 23.1 per cent of the Blazers' points in 2020-21, with only Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors contributing a greater share (24.6 per cent), this dip has had a significant knock-on effect.
Portland are 5-6 this year and one of only three teams still winless on the road, with their latest loss coming on Tuesday at the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Blazers had snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Clippers in the teams' previous meeting but went down 117-109 at Staples Center, where Lillard was furious with the officials, restricted to only one free throw attempt.
He has visited the foul line just three times in the past three games and let rip during his post-game media duties.
"I feel like the way the game is being officiated is unacceptable," Lillard said.
"I don't want to go too deep into it so they make a big deal out of it, but the explanations, the s*** that's getting missed, I mean, come on...
"I'm not that type of player – I felt like coming in, the rule change wouldn't affect me, because I don't do the trick the referees, I don't do the trick plays. It's just unacceptable, man.
"Then the explanations and the remarks in return when you're telling them is just like... I don't really have anything else to say about it."
For all Lillard's complaints, his shooting performance has also been down this year, averaging 36.5 per cent from the field, 25.5 per cent from three-point range and 85.7 from the foul line; he was 45.1, 39.1 and 92.8 last season.
These numbers were not helped by a hopeless performance against the Indiana Pacers last week, when he was two-of-13 from the field for a mere four points in 38 minutes.
Only once previously in his career had Lillard scored so few points while playing more minutes (four in 40 versus the Orlando Magic in 2013).
But he had a year-high 27 against the Clippers and added: "I'm feeling better each game. I still feel like I'm not completely rolling, but I'm feeling better every game."
Doc Rivers is unclear about the severity of Seth Curry's foot injury as the Philadelphia 76ers' availability concerns got worse with the guard withdrawn prior to Tuesday's 118-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 76ers went into the game leading the Eastern Conference at 8-3 despite being without Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle, Isaiah Joe and Tobias Harris due to COVID-19, with Ben Simmons also still unavailable.
Curry was pulled out of the 76ers side for the game shortly before tipoff with a left foot contusion.
"I don’t know," Rivers told reporters about Curry's injury after the game. "I literally thought he was gonna play and then late, you could hear the language, it didn’t sound like he was gonna play.
"We start adjusting pretty quickly after that. I’m not even sure what it is. I think it’s his toe, but I’m not sure."
Guard Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, with five rebounds and four assists, while center Andre Drummond had 17 points along with 20 rebounds, but the 76ers missed their stars.
Rivers had indicated pre-game that Harris may be the closest to returning of the quartet who had entered the league's health and safety protocol.
"All the other guys are still where they're at. I would say just talking to Tobias, he's the one guy who'll be back sooner than later," Rivers said.
Rivers was impressed that the decimated 76ers, who also lost to the New York Knicks on Monday, were in the hunt against the reigning champions before a 27-16 fourth quarter.
"We gave ourselves a chance to win the game in both and there’s something to be taken from that so we do learn a lot," Rivers said. "But we didn’t win the games. That’s a fact.
"We had chances. It’s an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to get better, I’m not down about the loss. You either do one of two things in a competition. You either win the game or you lose the game. Period.”
Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo says the Milwaukee Bucks will reap the benefits of rotating their roster amid injuries later in the championship race.
The reigning champions overcame the under-manned Eastern Conference leaders the Philadelphia 76ers 118-109 on Tuesday, snapping a run of five losses in six games.
Antetokounmpo starred with 31 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, but unheralded Grayson Allen and Bobby Portis impressed in the absence of small forward Khris Middleton (COVID-19) and center Brook Lopez (back).
Allen hit five three-pointers to finish with 25 points, while starting center Portis had 19 points and 10 rebounds across 35 minutes on court. Semi Ojeleye added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
"Obviously you always want to win, you play to win," Antetokounmpo said during his post-game news conference. "Grayson and Semi today were really good.
"Semi was shooting his open shots, he was being aggressive, diving for the ball. That's good. We're going to need that.
"We need these guys feeling comfortable playing with me and Jrue [Holiday]. We're going to need everybody to win a championship and play down the stretch in May and June."
Allen, who joined the Bucks from the Memphis Grizzlies in the off-season, went eight-for-13 from the field, including shooting at 56 per cent from beyond the arc.
"Grayson did a good job getting to the right spots," Antetokounmpo said.
The Bucks finished strong with a 27-16 fourth quarter to get over the 76ers, who were without Joel Embiid. The win improves Milwaukee's record to 5-6 on the season.
"It's always good to get a win," the Greek forward said. "Sometimes it's pretty, sometimes it's ugly, but a win is a win. We're trying to build some momentum here.
"With a stop or a block or a play or a pass, just do whatever it takes to get a win. That's what my team needs me to do. That's why I showed a bit of emotion... I just wanted us to get a win."
Holiday missed his three attempts from three-point range and shot four-for-14 from the field to finish with eight points in his third game back from an ankle injury.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said: "I thought he had some big plays defensively. His effort on the boards, he can put a body on a guy like Drummond, so Giannis and Bobby can clean stuff up. Jrue is working his way and really getting better."
The Milwaukee Bucks picked up a much-needed victory against a depleted opponent on Tuesday, outlasting the Philadelphia 76ers 118-109.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 16 rebounds for the reigning NBA champions, who had lost five of their previous six games.
Milwaukee (5-6) caught the 76ers at the right time, with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris among four players sidelined by COVID-19 protocols and Seth Curry nursing a left foot contusion.
Despite those absences, Philadelphia (8-4) stayed in the game until the closing minutes, leading by as many as 13 in the second quarter and entering the fourth quarter up 93-91.
Tyrese Maxey had 39 points and Embiid's replacement, Andre Drummond, contributed 17 points and 20 rebounds for the 76ers, who have dropped six straight games to the Bucks.
George, Clippers keep Blazers winless on road
Paul George led a balanced Clippers attack with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 117-109. The loss kept Portland (5-6) winless in five road games this season, with two of those losses coming at Staples Center.
Reggie Jackson added 23 points for the Clippers (6-4), while Nicolas Batum contributed 22 as he made six of eight shots from three-point range. Damian Lillard scored 27 to lead the Blazers.
Cold-shooting Hawks fall to Jazz
The Atlanta Hawks made an impressive 51.4 percent of their three-point attempts (18 of 35) against the Utah Jazz, but connected on just 19 of 50 (38 per cent) from two-point range as they fell 110-98.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
