Los Angeles: Kawhi Leonard shrugged off the after-effects of a recent concussion to score 31 points as the San Antonio Spurs downed Atlanta to go level with Golden State at the top of the Western Conference on Monday.
Leonard, who had been concussed after a clash with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo last Thursday, showed no sign of the knock as he led the Spurs to a 107-99 victory over the Hawks.
The win gave San Antonio an identical 52-14 record to Western Conference pacesetters Golden State, who host Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Leonard was backed by an all-round scoring display from his Spurs teammates with David Lee, Danny Green, Patty Mills and Pau Gasol all posting double-figure points tallies.
Leonard also chipped in with five rebounds and four assists as the Spurs claimed back-to-back wins following their victory over an under-strength Golden State on Saturday.
For Atlanta, Dennis Schroder led the scoring with 22 points, with Tim Hardaway adding 17 points and Paul Millsap 16.
Elsewhere on Monday, Karl-Anthony Towns poured on 39 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a surprisingly comfortable 119-104 win over the in-form Washington Wizards.
Ricky Rubio scored 22 points and added 19 assists for Minnesota as Washington slipped to 41-25 for the season. The Timberwolves have now won eight of their past 12 games.
Washington’s scoring was led by John Wall with 27 points while Bradley Beal contributed 20 points despite a wayward shooting performance that saw him make just seven of 21 attempts.
In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points with six rebounds and two assists to guide the Raptors past the Dallas Mavericks 100-78.
The Raptors improved to 39-28 after losing their two previous games.
Toronto effectively settled the contest in the third quarter, building a 13-point lead which was soon stretched to 22 points in the fourth quarter after Fred VanVleet’s three pointer.
Norman Powell scored 19 points while Jonas Valanciunas weighed in with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Harrison Barnes with 18 points and Dirk Nowitzki with 17 points were top scorers for Dallas.
In Charlotte, the Chicago Bulls ended a five-game losing streak with a 115-109 win over the Hornets after Rajon Rondo’s 20-point haul.
The veteran added seven points and six assists and was the key figure in helping Chicago’s sputtering offence find its rhythm again.
Rondo was brought back into the starting line-up by coach Fred Hoiberg after the Bulls limp 100-80 surrender against Boston on Sunday. It was Rondo’s first start since late December.
