After taking a sudden step back, the Golden State Warriors resumed their historic march into the NBA record books.
Reigning league MVP Stephen Curry dropped 39 points with nine triples, and the Warriors shot past the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 136-111 on Sunday.
The defending NBA Champs bounced back from Friday’s 109-106 upset loss against to Boston, which snapped their NBA-record 54-game home winning streak and their 37th home game of the current season.
“It was a big opportunity for us to bounce back after tough loss at home and we handled the challenge very well,” Curry said. “Obviously, we wanted to go 41-0 at home but it wasn’t the case.
“Our goal for the year is obviously not to lose any more but not having two losses in a row is something to be proud of.”
Draymond Green had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 13th triple double of the season, while Klay Thompson netted 21 for Golden State (69-8), who matched the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls and 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers with 69 wins apiece.
Golden State need to win four of the final five games to break the all-time record of 72 victories set by the 1995-96 Bulls.
“We realize we can make history and it keeps us focused,” Thompson said. Damian Lillard scored 38 points to pace the Trail Blazers (41-38), whose four-game winning streak ended. But they still remain half a game behind Memphis for the fifth playoff spot in the Western Conference.    
Ahead 63-56 at the half, Curry put up 14 points in the pivotal third quarter, and the Warriors used a period-ending 12-3 run to open a 101-89 cushion before pulling away.
Elsewhere:  
•LA Clippers 114, Washington Wizards 109: Blake Griffin returned to the lineup after a three-month absence, with six points along with five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, helping the Clippers beat the visiting Wizards.
The five-time All-Star power forward was rusty in his first game since Christmas Day from a partially torn quadriceps tendon and a broken right shooting hand after punching an assistant equipment manager, costing him a four-game suspension of the 45 missed.
Chris Paul had 27 points with 12 assists and the game-sealing triple with 22 seconds left for the Clippers (48-28), who clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Marcin Gortat scored 21 points while John Wall had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards (37-40), who dropped four games behind Indiana for the final playoff spot in the East.
•Cleveland Cavaliers 112, Charlotte Hornets 103: LeBron James had 31 points, JR Smith tied a season high with 27, and the Cavs (55-22)  held off the visiting Hornets. Kemba Walker led playoff-bound Charlotte (44-32) with 29 points.
lBoston Celtics 107, LA Lakers 100: Isaiah Thomas scored 26 points as the visiting Celtics (45-32) clinched a playoff spot in the East after escaping the Lakers (16-60) and a 34-point effort by retirement-bound Kobe Bryant.
•Orlando Magic 119, Memphis Grizzlies 107: Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points and the Magic (33-44) sent the visiting Grizzlies to a sixth straight loss. Matt Barnes had 24 points for injury-depleted Memphis (41-36), which remains the fifth playoff seed in the West.
•Utah Jazz 101, Phoenix Suns 86: Gordon Hayward scored 22 points as the Jazz (39-38) beat the hosting Suns to pull into a tie with Dallas for the seventh playoff spot in the West. Phoenix (20-57) got a season-high 21 points and 18 rebounds from Tyson Chandler.
•Dallas Mavericks 88, Minnesota Timberwolves 78: JJ Barea scored 21 points, Wesley Matthews had 19 with six triples, and the visiting Mavs (39-38) topped the T-Wolves (25-52), despite Andrew Wiggins’ game-high 30 points.
•Houston Rockets 118, Oklahoma City Thunder 110: James Harden fired in 15 of his 41 points in the final quarter against his former team, rallying the Rockets (39-38) past the visiting Thunder.
Despite the win, the Rockets remain a game behind Utah and Dallas for the seventh and eighth spots in the Western Conference playoff scramble.
Kevin Durant had 33 points while Russell Westbrook added 23, with 13 rebounds and nine assists for the playoff-bound Thunder (53-24), winners in nine of their previous 10 outings.
•Indiana Pacers 92, New York Knicks 87: Paul George scored 20 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 23.6 seconds left, as the visiting Pacers (41-36) edged the Knicks to pull into a seventh-place tie with Detroit in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Sasha Vujacic topped New York (31-47) with 21 points.
•Chicago Bulls 102, Milwaukee Bucks 98: Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and the Bulls (39-38) withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 34 to beat the Bucks (32-45), but stayed two games behind Indiana and Detroit for the final playoff spot in the East.  
•New Orleans Pelicans 106, Brooklyn Nets 87: Luke Babbit scored 21 points, Tim Frazier added career-highs of 19 with and 13 assists, and the injury-depleted Pelicans (29-47) spanked the hosting Nets (21-56).