OAKLAND, California—Golden State’s Klay Thompson had 60 points, a National Basketball Association season high and the most by a Warriors player in 42 years, as the hosts whipped Indiana, 142-106, on Monday.
Thompson scored 40 by halftime in just 18-plus minutes. He had a career-best 60 points through three quarters and called it a night, sitting down with 1:22 left in the period.
Golden State is a game ahead of San Antonio for the Western Conference’s best record, after the Spurs pulled off a come-from-behind win against Milwaukee, aided by a late goaltending call.
Cleveland, which is setting the pace in the East, won a tight game at Toronto, while Houston hung on to edge Boston when a Celtics shot on the buzzer went astray.
Thompson joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Joe Fulks as the only Warriors to score 60 points in a game. Barry was the last to do so, going off for 64 in a 1974 game against Portland.
Thompson shot 21-for-33 and eight-of-14 on three-pointers and converted 10-of-11 free throws in 29 minutes.
Kevin Durant added 20 points for Golden State in another display of impressive passing. The Warriors’ 15 first-quarter assists matched a club record and they wound up with 45 total—two off the franchise record.
Elsewhere, it was Denver 106, Philadelphia 98; Cleveland 116, Toronto 112; Oklahoma City 102, Atlanta 99; Washington 118, Brooklyn 113; Houston 107, Boston 106; Memphis 110, New Orleans 108, two overtimes; Portland 112, Chicago 110; San Antonio 97, Milwaukee 96; Charlotte 109, Dallas 101; and Utah 107, LA Lakers 101.
San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge was credited for the go-ahead basket with 21.2 seconds left after Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was whistled for goaltending and the Spurs won, 97-96, at the Bucks.
The hosts had one last shot to retake the lead, but Mirza Teletovic missed an open three-pointer from the right corner with 3.9 seconds left. Aldridge secured the rebound and the Spurs ran out the clock.
San Antonio’s record of 12 straight road wins to start the season looked over when Milwaukee took an early 15-point lead, but the Spurs rallied to push that streak to 13.
Jabari Parker had 23 points, picking up the slack for much of the fourth quarter for the Bucks with Antetokounmpo on the bench with five fouls.
Cleveland’s LeBron James scored 34 points to offset an injury to JR Smith and won, 116-112, at Toronto.
Smith injured his left knee in the first quarter after landing on a jump shot and hobbled to the dressing room in considerable pain.
The win was the Cavaliers’ third straight this season against the Raptors, the team they beat in last season’s Eastern Conference finals. It also prevented Toronto from leapfrogging Cleveland into first place in the Eastern Conference.
DeMar DeRozan had 31 points for Toronto, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Image credits: AP