The Golden State Warriors achieved a big win of 119-93 over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center on Friday, continuing to lead the NBA with an 11-1 record.

Stephen Curry drained nine 3-pointers to get 40 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Warriors. He (3,366) surpassed Ray Allen (3,358) in total career 3-pointers (regular season and playoffs combined), leading in NBA history. It took Curry 585 fewer games than Allen to achieve the same milestone.

His true shooting percentage (ts%) was an incredible 82 percent. It was shared by another Warriors player, 37-year-old Andre Iguodala, who completed two dunks in the game.

This was not the best performance by the Warriors in terms of shooting. The whole team went 15-46 from downtown thanks to Jordan Poole (2-9), Andrew Wiggins (0-4), Gary Payton II (0-3) and Otto Porter Jr. (1-4).

But the home team outscored the Bulls 52-38 in points in the paint, not to mention that the Bulls were overshadowed behind the arc (8-27). Lonzo Ball, despite being one of their most important perimeter firepower sources, missed six out of seven triple attempts.

The Bulls' disappointing offense was the result of cold hands, but also the physical and tough defense by the Warriors. From the second quarter onward, DeMar DeRozan was always met withtwo defenders trying to double-team him every time he received the ball one foot below the 3-point line or drove in dribbling. That explained why he only made one field goal (FG) in the first three quarters. DeRozan is a smart passer, but the Warriors made sure that he couldn't create easy basket by passing out of trapping.

As the other major playmaker of the Bulls, Zach LaVine was not double-teamed during most of his time on the floor, but he still committed seven turnovers without even one assist. The Warriors could stand the tough shots he made from time to time, but wouldn't allow him to drive any scoring run. When LaVine went 4-4 in FGs to get 10 points in the first quarter, the Bulls led 29-23. But when the last 13 points were scattered over the following three quarters, the Bulls did not seem to be able to launch any effective attack.

The Bulls couldn't miss any more of Nikola Vucevic, who missed Friday's game after testing positive for COVID-19. Though he is at an almost career low in most offensive numbers, Vucevic plays a strategic role in the Bulls' offense. He's big enough to set solid screen for LaVine and DeRozan; after that, Vucevic can draw the opponents' center out of the paint by standing at the 3-point line. He's also a terrific pass in the high post this season, averaging 4.3 assists per game.

Vucevic also plays an important defensive role for the Bulls. He has averaged 10.9 rebounds per game so far this season, 9.2 of them on the defensive glass. He comes fifth in protecting the rim in the league in spite of 0.9 blocks per game. Vucevic's advantage is that he knows where to go in defensive positions. When he is slowing the opponents' attacker down, his athletic teammates would catch up and deflect their shooting.

Without this solid big man under the rim, the Bulls allowed 12 offensive rebounds by the Warriors who turned them into 13 second-chance points. Wiggins missed seven out of eight jump shots, but was 4-4 around the paint and grabbed three offensive rebounds to get 15 points.

Friday's loss was only the beginning of the Bulls' five-game trip in the Western Conference. They are likely to carry on without Vucevic.

Lakers look like a joke in Q3 against Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-83 at Staples Center on Friday, which was also the 33rd birthday of Russell Westbrook.

Having trailed 49-44 in the first half, the Timberwolves had a crazy 40-12 in Q3 and led by 33 points at most on the floor. The whole team went 15-24 in FGs, including 7-13 at the 3-point line. They also grabbed 18 rebounds and had four steals in this quarter alone. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was neutralized by Anthony Davis in the first half, drained six FGs and four triples to get 18 points in Q3.

"Anyone who knows me knows this is not just a job to me," Towns said after the game. "This is my life. When I do that, I give all of myself to this game and to the work. It's great to leave here and have food taste different – have it taste really, really good – and have a new outlook and mindset."

"Desperately needed this one. In this situation, the more desperate team usually wins in the NBA on any given night. We've been playing well. We just haven't been playing well often enough. Felt good to watch some shots go in finally," Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said after ending his team's six-losing-streak.

Westbrook was blamed for the home loss, as well as the Lakers' substandard performance in Q3. But everyone in the purple and gold should share the blame because every one of them failed to do their job, which was to put the ball into the basket.

The Lakers, in general, went 4-21 in FGs and 1-13 in triples in Q3 and spent over seven minutes making no FG at all. Westbrook (1-3) did not even take the most attempts though he committed three turnovers. Carmelo Anthony missed all of his five shots, all behind the arc. Avery Bradley was 1-3 too. Malik Monk and Ken Bazemore were 0-3 combined.

Davis was the only relatively reliable guy on offense but he did not do better than shooting 2-5 from the floor. The Timberwolves did not hesitate at all to double-team or even triple-team him after realizing that the Lakers' so-called shooters outside were not scary enough for bluffing on Friday night.

"We're not going to win a championship the way we're playing," Davis said after the game. "We have to be better. ... We've got to decide who we want to be. A championship team? That's not us right now."

What the Timberwolves did in Q3 was not rocket science, they just moved the ball a bit better and shook the net while the Lakers didn't. The purple and gold have to stand their simple and rigid offense when they have to turn to Westbrook and Davis to make play. That means when they cannot make open shots, their offense will look as awkward as it did on Friday night.

That's probably why they heard a fan yell "Get in there, LeBron!" at Staples Center.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

New York Knicks 96-104 Charlotte Hornets

Detroit Pistons 78-98 Cleveland Cavaliers

Portland Trail Blazers 104-92 Houston Rockets

Phoenix Suns 119-94 Memphis Grizzlies

Brooklyn Nets 120-112 New Orleans Pelicans

Sacramento Kings 103-105 Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas Mavericks 123-109 San Antonio Spurs

Atlanta Hawks 96-105 Denver Nuggets