OAKLAND -- The winning streak rises to 12, the magic number drops to two.
Behind a sizzling third quarter Tuesday night, the Warriors roasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-107 before a roaring sellout crowd (19,596) at Oracle Arena.
Klay Thompson fired in a game-high 41 points to lead a Warriors offense that shot 60.9 percent over the first three quarters against a porous Minnesota defense. They shot 52.4 percent for the game.
Stephen Curry scored 19 points, Matt Barnes 12 and Andre Iguodala 11 as the Warriors overcame a 50-40 rebounding deficit.
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The victory lifted the Warriors to 64-14, giving them 204 wins over the past three seasons, the most by any NBA team over a three-year span.
Any combination of wins by the Warriors and losses by the Spurs adding up to two gives the Warriors the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. They have four games remaining, the Spurs five.
Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points apiece to lead Minnesota (31-46). Karl-Anthony Towns totaled 21 points. The Timberwolves shot 42.7 percent, the 12th consecutive Warriors opponent below 50 percent.
The game featured a brief skirmish between Warriors center JaVale McGee and Timberwolves big man Gorgui Dieng, during which the two men exchanged shoves and were issued double technical fouls. McGee also was assessed with a flagrant-1 foul.
STANDOUT PERFORMER:
When nobody else on the Warriors was generating much offense, Thompson kept finding ways to light up the scoreboard
Thompson's line: 41 points (13-of-24 from the field, 7-of-14 beyond the arc, 8-of-9 from the line), three assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. He played 33 minutes and was a team-best plus-19.
It was the 10th time in Thompson's career, and the second this season, that he has scored at least 40 points in a game.
TURNING POINT:
After Towns drained a 3-pointer to pull Minnesota within four, 73-69, with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors needed a little more than three minutes to respond with a 15-2 run, going up 88-73 with 5:56 left in the quarter.
The Warriors pushed the lead as high as 23 in the quarter, and the Timberwolves got no closer than 14 in the fourth.
INJURY UPDATE:
Warriors: F Kevon Looney (L hip strain) was listed as questionable and upgraded to available prior to tipoff. F Kevin Durant (L knee sprain, bone bruise) was listed as out. C Damian Jones is on assignment with Santa Cruz of the Development League.
Timberwolves: F Nemanja Bjelica (L foot fracture), G Zach LaVine (L knee surgery) and C Nikola Pekovic (R ankle soreness) were listed as out.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Warriors left immediately after the game for Phoenix, where on Wednesday night they face the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05.
