LOS ANGELES — Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 3-pointers as part of a season-high 52-point performance, and the visiting Golden State Warriors stormed to a 149-124 win over the home team Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
The contest never was close as Golden State took aim at the league’s record book.
The Warriors scored 92 points in the first half — the most ever by a road team and the second most of all time behind the Phoenix Suns, who had 107 in the first half against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 19, 1990.
Golden State led 92-50 at the break. The 42-point margin was the fourth-largest halftime lead in history and the largest lead by a road team.
Thompson finished 14 of 24 from beyond the arc. He exulted and held up three fingers with each hand after his record-breaking 3-ball dropped through the net with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.
The shot moved Klay Thompson past teammate Steph Curry, who sank 13 3-pointers against the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 8, 2016. Curry did not seem to mind as he laughed with teammates on the bench late in the game.
In 26 minutes of action, Thompson made 18 of 29 field-goal attempts and grabbed five rebounds.
Zach LaVine and Antonio Blakeney paced the Bulls with 21 points apiece. Wendell Carter Jr. (18), Jabari Parker (15) and Cameron Payne (15) were among six players who scored in double digits as Chicago set season highs in both points scored and points allowed.
Curry finished with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Alfonzo McKinnie also shined with 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench for Golden State, which has won seven of eight games to start the season. Kevin Durant contributed 14 points and eight assists.
But the night belonged to Thompson. Even Bulls fans started cheering him as they realized history was being made.
The eight-year veteran out of Washington State entered the night with five 3-pointers in 36 attempts over seven games on the season. He had six by the end of the first quarter and 10 by the end of the first half, tying Chandler Parsons’ NBA record.
The Warriors fell short of the Suns’ record of 173 points in regulation, also set during the 1990-91 campaign.
BUTLER’S 4TH-QUARTER SURGE LIFTS WOLVES OVER LAKERS
Jimmy Butler made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 32 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 124-120 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in Minneapolis.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, and rookie guard Josh Okogie scored a season-high 17 points for Minnesota.
LeBron James had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. Brandon Ingram returned from a four-game suspension and scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for Los Angeles, and Kyle Kuzma scored 16 of his 19 in the first half.
JaVale McGee added 13 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and eight assists off the bench for the Lakers.
Towns gave the Timberwolves their biggest lead of the game at 119-109 when he sank a 3-pointer with 4:56 left to cap a 14-2 run.
The Lakers answered with an 8-0 run, but Taj Gibson blocked Kuzma’s 3-point attempt with 39 seconds remaining, and Butler made his final 3-pointer of the fourth with 19.7 seconds left to make it 122-117.
The Lakers took their biggest lead at 90-85 on a 3-pointer by Lance Stephenson with 3:28 left in the third quarter and maintained a 94-93 advantage entering the fourth.
The Timberwolves took their biggest lead through the first three quarters at 21-13 on two free throws by Jeff Teague with 6:47 left in the first quarter. Towns was whistled for his second foul about a minute later and sat out until the start of the second quarter, when Minnesota maintained a 36-32 advantage.
The Lakers scored the final five points of the first half to take 66-64 lead into the break.
James scored 10 points in the second quarter after going scoreless in the opening 12 minutes.
Minnesota small forward Andrew Wiggins, third on the team in scoring last season at 17.7 points per game, missed his third consecutive game due to a quad injury.
SIMMONS HELPS BALANCED 76ERS HANDLE HAWKS AGAIN
Ben Simmons scored 21 points to lead seven Philadelphia 76ers players in double figures in a 113-92 rout of the visiting Atlanta Hawks Monday night.
Simmons, who registered his first 20-plus point effort of the season, also had 12 rebounds and nine assists. It was the 21st time in Simmons’ young career that he has scored at least 20 points.
Fultz scored a career-high 16 points while Muscala and Redick added 14 apiece for the Sixers, who won their second straight. Landry Shamet also scored 13 points and Robert Covington had 11. Joel Embiid had a relatively quiet game with 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
The Sixers defeated Atlanta for the fifth consecutive time.
Kent Bazemore led the Hawks with 18 points while Trae Young, Omari Spellman and Dewayne Dedmon added 11 each.
The Hawks shot just eight of 37 from 3-point range as they dropped their second in a row
The game was tied at 47 at halftime with Dario Saric missing all seven of his shots.
Bazemore had 10 points for the Hawks and was the only player on either team to reach double figures by the half.
The Sixers began to pull away midway through the third with a 15-4 run to take a 67-55 advantage. Simmons then followed with a layup for a 69-55 lead with 4:33 left in the third. Simmons scored 15 of his 21 points through that stage in the third.
Philadelphia outscored the Hawks 31-13 in the third to go ahead 78-60.
Atlanta was just 5 of 25 from beyond the arc through the third.
After Dedmon knocked down a 3-pointer, Muscala came right back for the Sixers with a baseline trey for an 88-69 lead with 8:54 remaining. The lead soon swelled to 94-72 when Shamet hit a 3-pointer.
Simmons sat out the final six-plus minutes with the game well in hand for the Sixers.
The Hawks continued to struggle with their shooting the rest of the way and ultimately were blown out. — Reuters

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