OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors hit an unexpected obstacle on their quest for a record 73 wins, blowing a 17-point lead and losing 124-117 in overtime to the last-place Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Shabazz Muhammad scored a career-high 35 points and Andrew Wiggins had 32 as Minnesota prevented Golden State (69-9) from becoming the second team to win 70 games in a season. The Warriors now must win their final four games to break the single season wins record of 72 set by Chicago in 1995-96.
Stephen Curry had a rare off-shooting night as Golden State took its third loss against a team currently in last place in its division, following earlier defeats at Milwaukee in December and last month at the Los Angeles Lakers.
But this one came at home,
where the Warriors had won a record 54 straight regular-season games before falling to Boston last Friday.
“You have so much media attention and everybody talking about breaking the record and you lose focus a little bit,” Kerr said. “The same thing happened 20 years ago. We didn’t play well down the stretch. This doesn’t surprise me. It’s easy to get lost in all this stuff. We haven’t been very dialed in of late.”
Chicago also lost two late home games that season before ending up with the record 72 wins. The Warriors now must sweep their final four games to break that mark.
“We put ourselves in a position where it’s a realistic goal,” said Curry, who missed 18-of-25 shots. “We have to embrace the challenge. Obviously it’s not easy to get it done. We’re proving that right now.”
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