Don Nelson makes history in victory over Timberwolves
Golden State defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 and gave its coach, Don Nelson, a very special win.
"Nellie," as he is affectionately known by those around him, won his 1,333rd game and passed Lenny Wilkins to become the NBA's all-time leader for coaching victories.
"It's just such a neat feeling," Nelson said. "This is probably why we end up coaching, for moments like this."
On April 4, Golden State defeated Toronto 113-112 with a last-second shot to give Nelson his 1,332nd win. But in their first attempt to break the record, the Warriors lost 112-94 to Washington.
Their chances for a victory Wednesday were decidedly better against Minnesota, who came into the game losers of 24 of its last 26 and playing without standout big man Al Jefferson, who was given permission to miss the game.
Rookie Stephen Curry scored 27 points and dished out 14 assists. Curry finished just two rebounds and three steals from a quadruple-double.
"I'm awfully proud of [my players]," Nelson said. "Ronny [Turiaf] was sick and probably shouldn't have played, but he found a way to make a contribution. And then how about these D-League guys that we picked up? They all had great nights."
One of those surprising D-Leaguers was Anthony Tolliver, who led Golden State with a career-high 34 points, eclipsing his previous best of 30 set less than a month ago. Undrafted and playing in Italy and the D-League for the majority of the last two years, Tolliver was signed to a 10-day contract on January 17. In the last 11 games, Tolliver has averaged 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds.
"It's great [to play for Nelson]," Tolliver said. "He's definitely a player's coach, someone that allows players to do what they can do and puts them in situations where they can succeed. He allows freedom. Obviously, if you step over the bound, he'll bite you, but he just allows you to play your game."
The Warriors were only too happy to celebrate Nelson's record.
"We didn't have any champagne ," said Tolliver. "We just had some Sprite and Mountain Dew and water and sprayed it all over him. He said the other night that he hadn't had a championship yet, so that was like his championship. So we wanted to make it as special as possible."
Longevity has been the key to Nelson's career. He has played or coached in an amazing 3,447 games. But he knows that his record is far from secure.
"There are plenty of guys close to [the record] if they want to coach a couple of years," Nelson said. "There are coaches out there who win 50 at a time, 60 at a time. Not like me, winning 20 at a time. It's a little harder that way."
Minnesota jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter only to have it turned into a 14-point deficit a little more than a quarter.
Golden State led by as much as 27 before Minnesota made it a game, closing the gap to four with 43 second to play.
But eight straight free throws by Anthony Morrow, another undrafted player, sealed the victory and gave Nelson his record.
"We kind of let it slip a little at the end," Curry said. "We kept it interesting but got the win for [Nelson]."
With the win, Golden State completed a season sweep of the Timberwolves for the first time in 18 years, a record going back to the 1991-92 season.
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