Golden State is a game ahead of San Antonio for the Western Conference’s best record, after the Spurs pulled off a come-from-behind win against Milwaukee, aided by a late goaltending call.

Cleveland, which is setting the pace in the East, won a tight game at Toronto while Houston hung on to edge Boston when a Celtics shot on the buzzer went astray.

Thompson joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Joe Fulks as the only Warriors to score 60 points in a game. Barry was the last to do so, going off for 64 in a 1974 game against Portland.

Thompson shot 21 for 33 and 8 of 14 on 3-pointers and converted 10 of 11 free throws in 29 minutes.

Kevin Durant added 20 points for Golden State in another display of impressive passing. The Warriors’ 15 first-quarter assists matched a club record and they wound up with 45 total – two off the franchise record.

San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge was credited for the go-ahead basket with 21.2 seconds left after Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was whistled for goaltending and the Spurs won 97-96 at the Bucks.

The hosts had one last shot to retake the lead, but Mirza Teletovic missed an open 3-pointer from the right corner with 3.9 seconds left. Aldridge secured the rebound and the Spurs ran out the clock.

San Antonio’s record of 12 straight road wins to start the season looked over when Milwaukee took an early 15-point lead but the Spurs rallied to push that streak to 13.

Jabari Parker had 23 points, picking up the slack for much of the fourth quarter for the Bucks with Antetokounmpo on the bench with five fouls.

Cleveland’s LeBron James scored 34 points to offset an injury to J.R. Smith and won 116-112 at Toronto.

Smith injured his left knee in the first quarter after landing on a jump shot and hobbled to the dressing room in considerable pain.

The win was the Cavaliers’ third straight this season against the Raptors, the team they beat in last season’s Eastern Conference finals. It also prevented Toronto from leapfrogging Cleveland into first place in the Eastern Conference.

DeMar DeRozan had 31 points for Toronto, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.

Boston’s Al Horford missed a shot on the buzzer, and Houston hung on to pip the Celtics 107-106.

The game was tied before James Harden – who finished with 37 points – scored five straight points to make it 107-102 with less than a minute remaining. Avery Bradley made a jump shot and Harden received a flagrant 1 foul for elbowing Marcus Smart in the face. Smart made both free throws before Isaiah Thomas missed a layup.

But Houston knocked the ball out of bounds with 5.2 seconds left, giving Boston one last chance. Horford drove into the lane, but his shot rolled off the rim and Harden grabbed it to secure the victory.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook extended his streak of triple-doubles to six games, leading the Thunder over skidding Atlanta 102-99.

Westbrook scored 32 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 12 assists, giving him the NBA’s longest streak of triple-doubles since Michael Jordan had seven in a row in 1989.

Westbrook’s run has sparked a six-game winning streak by the Thunder. He has reached double figures in all three categories in half of the Thunder’s 22 games.

By contrast, Jordan had 15 triple-doubles for the entire 1988-89 season.

Atlanta rallied down the stretch, but Westbrook closed it out for the Thunder. He finished with 27 second-half points to send the Hawks to their seventh straight loss and 10th defeat in the last 11 games.

It’s the longest losing sequence for the Hawks since they dropped eight in a row in February 2014.

Portland’s Damian Lillard had 30 points to lead the Trail Blazers over Chicago 112-110.

CJ McCollum scored 24 for the Trail Blazers, who opened a five-game trip.

Dwyane Wade scored 34 points for the Bulls, who played without point guard Rajon Rondo, who was serving a one-game team suspension which Chicago did not publically explain.

Utah overcame the absence of ill coach Quin Snyder to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-101 for their sixth win in seven games.

Memphis’ Marc Gasol had 28 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in regulation, to go with 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Grizzlies over New Orleans 110-108 in double overtime.

Charlotte took advantage of a knee injury to Dallas center Andrew Bogut late in the first quarter to dominate the paint and the boards in rallying from an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Mavericks 109-101.

Denver’s Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points and Will Barton had 22, including a big 3-pointer late, to lead the Nuggets to a 106-98 win at Philadelphia.

Washington’s John Wall scored 25 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Wizards rallied to beat Brooklyn 118-113.

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Stephen Curry also had 30 points with five 3s for Golden State, which had to work hard to avoid a second home defeat in the early part of the season, having only lost two total in each of the previous two seasons.

It was even tighter at Oklahoma City, where Serge Ibaka hit a basket with less than a second on the clock to snatch victory for Orlando against his former team, while Cleveland had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to win at home against Charlotte.

The Warriors were guided to victory by the 30-point performances of Thompson and Curry plus 29 from Kevin Durant.

Thompson shot 11 for 18 also with five 3s and scored 14 of his points in the fourth.

Eric Bledsoe and T.J. Warren scored 20 points apiece to lead six players in double figures for the Suns.

Orlando’s Ibaka had a point to prove to the team that traded him in the offseason as he led the Magic to a 119-117 victory at Oklahoma City.

Ibaka scored a career-high 31 points, capped by the game winner.

With the score tied in the final minute, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook missed a jump shot, and Orlando rebounded and called timeout with 11 seconds remaining to set up Ibaka’s winner with 0.4 seconds left.

Westbrook finished with 41 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season and 40th of his career. The Thunder had won on the past 20 occasions when Westbrook tallied a triple-double.

Elfrid Payton scored 23 points for the Magic, who had lost their previous three.

Cleveland’s LeBron James sparked the fourth-quarter comeback that lifted the Cavaliers over Charlotte 100-93.

James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter after a disappointing game up to that point, going 4-of-15 in shooting over the first three quarters.

Channing Frye scored a season-high 20 and James had 19 for the Cavaliers, who kept Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on the bench in the fourth quarter as coach Tyronn Lue stuck with the group that helped Cleveland take control of the game.

Kemba Walker scored 21 points for the Hornets.

Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins had a career-high 47 points, equaling the entire Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup to lead the Timberwolves to a 125-99 victory.

Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 32 points as the Trail Blazers won 112-105 and handed struggling Denver a fourth straight loss.

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”I feel it’s coming every game, honestly,” Thompson said. ”I won’t let missed shots dictate how hard I play. As long as I play hard, I know I’ll be successful. It’s that simple.”

Kevin Durant led Golden State with 28 points, Stephen Curry added 24 and Draymond Green had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors used their outside shooting to build a 19-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points to lead Dallas in his first game against the Warriors since leaving as a free agent last summer. But he didn’t get nearly enough help.

”The first half it was kind of like a deer in headlights,” he said. ”It was kind of like the scouting report went out the window and we were just out there playing. Once guys settled in we did a much better job.”

DeMar DeRozan won a shootout with Russell Westbrook, scoring 37 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 112-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

DeRozan, the NBA’s leading scorer with a 34.1 average heading into the game, made 13 of 22 field goals and 11 of 15 free throws.

”You know, sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat, and good offense can beat great defense,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. ”He had that happen several times where he made some very, very difficult shots.”

Westbrook had 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but he made just 9 of 26 shots and committed eight turnovers.

”I thought everybody that guarded him did a decent job, but it was a five-man job,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. ”Not one guy is going to stop him, and I say that all the time. It’s on the team.”

James Harden had a triple-double with 24 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds as Houston made two late defensive stands to hold off San Antonio 101-99.

”It was important for us,” Harden said. ”The only way we’re going to get to where we want to go is on the defensive end. The game wasn’t pretty at all, but defensively we got stops.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points for the Spurs but missed his final two shots, either of which could have tied the game. After Leonard missed a layup in the final seconds, LaMarcus Aldridge missed a tip-in attempt at the buzzer.

”It was a good play called,” Leonard said of his last shot. ”I got to the paint, got a shot off, just didn’t fall. (Aldridge) had a good chance, it just fell short, but we’ll take that again.”

Blake Griffin had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul added 19 points as the Los Angeles Clippers rolled past the Portland Trail Blazers 111-80.

”When you play defense the way we have been, it’s a lot of fun,” Griffin said. ”We enjoy getting stops and look forward to getting stops. Guys are just flying around, and even if someone makes a mistake, there’s another guy to cover up for them. When you are playing basketball like that, it’s a blast.”

The Clippers stunned Portland from the opening tip, shooting 59 percent in the first quarter. They built a 32-point lead in the first half, when Griffin had 17 points. Los Angeles’ bench opened the second quarter on a 14-2 run to go up 50-18 before extending the lead to 61-32 at halftime.

”We got our (rear ends) whupped,” Blazers guard Damian Lillard said. ”They had a lot of energy and they wanted it more than we did. They hurt us on the glass and we didn’t take anything away from them.”

Paul George scored seven of Indiana’s 13 points in overtime as the Indiana Pacers beat the winless Philadelphia 76ers 122-115 while Carmelo Anthony scored 14 of his 22 points in the third quarter in New York’s 110-96 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Eric Bledsoe had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help the Phoenix Suns rally to beat the Detroit Pistons 107-100 while Otto Porter scored a career-high 34 points as the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics 118-93.

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls 115-107, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated Orlando Magic 123-107 and the Charlotte Hornets overcame the Utah Jazz 104-98.

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9:53 p.m.

Cavaliers fans were told between quarters that there was no reason to panic, that this was no time to be quiet.

Then they were given reason to cheer.

A good start to the second quarter got Cleveland back into the game after Golden State built a double-digit lead. The Cavaliers went back to a big lineup and were beating up the Warriors on the backboards.

Even better for Cleveland: Golden State All-Star Klay Thompson had to go to the bench early in the period with a third foul.

The Cavs have cut it to six, 32-26 with 7:21 left.

—

9:43 p.m.

The Warriors look like they’ve found that extra gear in the early going against the short-handed Cavaliers.

Coach Steve Kerr told ABC’s Doris Burke after the 13-point lead in the first quarter that they played ”excellent defense” to force nine turnovers from the Cavaliers.

Kerr says he likes how his team is competing on the defensive end and moving the ball on offense. He says moving the ball is especially important against a Cavs defense that is determined to play them physical.

His Warriors are leading 31-24 with a more than 8 minutes left in the second quarter.

—

9:40 p.m.

Small-ball is winning big again so far for the Warriors.

Getting open looks all over the floor with its quickness and ball movement, Golden State has built a 28-15 lead after one quarter of Game 6.

Stephen Curry had nine points and Andre Iguodala seven. Iguodala was getting plenty of shooting space while being covered early by 7-foot-1 Timofey Mozgov.

The Cavaliers eventually sat Mozgov down in an effort to match up defensively, but Golden State shot 54.5 percent and had 11 assists on its 12 baskets.

LeBron James is wearing sharp golden sneakers but his game wasn’t off to a shiny start. He was just 2 of 6 for four points and the Cavaliers had nine first-quarter turnovers.

—

9:33 p.m.

An early charging call against LeBron James brought some loud boos. So did a couple of other whistles against the Cavaliers.

It sounded like fourth-quarter anger toward the officials coming out in the first quarter.

Scott Foster has heard them before. Foster is the lead official for Game 6, his 13th game of this postseason. The road teams have gone 11-1, according to Basketball Reference.com.

The Warriors are up 23-15 with about a minute left in the first quarter.

—

9:26 p.m.

LeBron James had a simple message for his Cavaliers before Game 6. As his teammates gathered around him, the man who carried him there tried to capture the desperation they needed to have.

James hollered at them, ”There ain’t no tomorrow! It’s just right now!”

James told the Cavs to worry about tomorrow if they get there. Trailing 3-2 in the series, they need a win to force a Game 7.

—

9:10 p.m.

Timofey Mozgov remains in the starting lineup for the Cavaliers. Let’s see how long he gets to stay on the floor now that Game 6 has tipped off.

The 7-foot-1 center spent almost all of Game 5 on the bench as Cavaliers coach David Blatt went with a small lineup to match up with the one the Warriors were using. Mozgov started but was pulled early and limited to just 9 minutes in that one.

He had scored a career-best 28 points in Game 4 while easily shooting over smaller defenders, so Blatt could leave him out there this time in hopes the Russian big man can do it again.

—

9:01 p.m.

Just passing 9 p.m., a late time to start a game.

Steve Kerr knows it.

His pregame press conference included a plea to NBA officials to begin the games earlier and cut down on all the waiting time the teams have to endure.

Kerr had joked last week in Cleveland that it felt like the games were starting at 11 p.m. It was so much easier Sunday for him in Game 5 in Oakland, California, where the 5 p.m. local start meant he was at work in the arena by early afternoon.

He knows that can’t always happen, but he would love something better than he faced before Game 6.

Kerr says, ”I used to work in TV, so I understand. But just like, 8 o’clock would be OK. 8:15 even.”

—

8:35 p.m.

Kevin Love is already working toward next season.

As the Cavaliers are attempting to prolong their postseason run without him, the former All-Star forward ducked into the weight room inside Quicken Loans Arena for a workout. Love recently underwent surgery on his left shoulder, which was yanked from the socket in the first round by Boston’s Kelly Olynyk.

Love has said he intends to exercise his player option and remain with the Cavs, who traded No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett for him last summer.

—

8:20 p.m.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry received a loud ovation from several dozen Golden State fans when he took the floor 90 minutes before Game 6.

Curry and his teammates appeared relaxed as they prepared to try and close out the Cavaliers and win their first NBA title since 1975.

While Curry shot, one fan was wearing a No. 30 Davidson jersey – the point guard’s alma mater.

Curry and the Warriors arrived at Quicken Loans Arena at 6:30 p.m., casually walking into the building as if this is just another game. It is hardly that.

—

7:43 p.m.

Only one trophy matters to LeBron James.

After posting historic statistics through the first five games of the NBA Finals, there is a growing sense that James could be named the series MVP even if the Cavaliers don’t beat Golden State for the championship. Jerry West is the only player to win MVP honors in the finals with a losing team, doing it with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969.

James wouldn’t feel good about the personal accomplishment, saying ”I’m here to win a team prize, and that’s to win a championship, not to win an individual prize.”

He entered Game 6 averaging 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the series – the best numbers ever posted in the game’s biggest event.

A four-time MVP during the regular season, James was named the finals MVP in 2012 and 2013 with Miami.

—

AP Sports Writer Tom Withers and AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report

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Teams with a 3-1 lead are 32-0 in the finals, according to information provided to the league by Elias. So the Warriors don’t have to be reminded of the importance of Game 4 against Cleveland on Thursday night.

”I think we all know it’s really urgent,” guard Klay Thompson said. ”No one wants to go down 3-1.”

LeBron James has scored 40 or more in two of the three games while playing more than 47 minutes per game for an undermanned team. He appeared exhausted Wednesday, though that will be worth it if he can deliver the Cavaliers their first NBA title.

”You just try to give everything that you have to your teammates and live with the results,” James said. ”For me, I just try to put it all on the line to a point where win, lose or draw, you’re satisfied with the outcome.”

Here are things to watch in Game 4:

SHIFTING STRATEGY?: The Warriors haven’t done much double-teaming of James, but coach Steve Kerr acknowledged they may have to change their tactics with the way he is scoring.

”As far as our coverage on LeBron, yeah, you have to evaluate everything,” Kerr said. ”You have to look at your options. You have to think about if you take something away, what you’re giving up, that kind of stuff.

”We’ve lost two games in a row in the series, so we have to look at everything. It may mean we change some things. It may not.”

NEED FOR SPEED: Golden State is averaging just 11.7 fast-break points in the finals, after averaging more than 20 in every other playoff series. The Warriors’ starters had none in Game 4, as Cleveland has played a deliberate pace on offense and gotten back quickly on transition defense.

”Yeah, if you look at it, our defense has pretty much done its job. It’s just offensively for some reason we haven’t, even when we get stops and rebounds, we haven’t been successful getting a ton of fast-break points,” Warriors forward David Lee said.

”We’ve been in this same position down 2-1 at Memphis against a great veteran team in Memphis that attempted to do the same thing Cleveland is doing. That’s slow the game down, grind it out, and play to their strengths. That’s exactly what Cleveland’s trying to do. I have faith that we’re going to come out and play the right way tomorrow and then this series is right back to square one.”

WHAT’S THE SECRET? James has a secret, and not even one of his best friends in the NBA could get him to make it public.

Besides wanting to win another championship, James said earlier in the series he had another motivation he wouldn’t reveal. Not even to Dwyane Wade, who was working the Game 3 postgame show for ESPN and interviewed his former teammate.

”And he tried to get the secret motivation out of me, and I didn’t give it to him either, even though I told him (privately),” James said. ”But he won’t tell you guys, though. He won’t tell you all until hopefully after this is all over.”

DELLY’S DUTIES: Matthew Dellavedova is expected to be ready to go after needing treatment for cramping and dehydration following Game 3. He played more than 38 minutes in that one and Cavaliers coach David Blatt said the team would keep an eye on him.

”But he’ll be out there and we’ll just monitor how he’s doing,” Blatt said. ”I’m not going to come in there with a specific minute restriction, but we’ll definitely be conscious of it.”

GREEN’S GUESS: Draymond Green, expected to play after getting treatment for back spasms, was asked what to expect from the Warriors at the start of Game 4.

”Just a more spirited team. More intensity,” he said. ”I’m not saying that, hey, we’re going to come out and make every shot. Who knows? Shots may fall, they may not. But I’m willing to bet if our intensity level is higher, the shots go in.”

—

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

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Thompson was a full participant in Monday’s practice, a major step in the All-Star shooting guard’s recovery. The Warriors say Thompson still needs to receive final clearance from doctors to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he expects Thompson will be cleared to play.

Thompson suffered a concussion after getting kneed in the head by Houston’s Trevor Ariza in Golden State’s Western Conference finals clinching win Wednesday night. Team doctors initially cleared Thompson to return to the game. He ended up not playing, and the team said he started developing symptoms after the game.

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That’s according to Thompson’s father, former NBA player Mychal Thompson. He told The Associated Press on Thursday night that his son’s energy was up and his appetite was back, but he still needs to pass the league-mandated concussion protocol.

Thompson said his son threw up a couple of times and he had to drive him home after the Warriors eliminated the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night.

The Warriors initially said Thompson did not show any signs of a concussion and could’ve come back into the game. The team later said he began not feeling well after the game and showed ”concussion-like symptoms.”

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Not their shots.

Not their injured All-Star.

Stephen Curry had 30 points and 13 assists, and the scrappy Warriors handed the Denver Nuggets their first loss at home in more than three months, a 131-117 stunner that evened their playoff series at a game each.

Rallying around injured David Lee, who cheered from the bench in street clothes, the Warriors got 26 points from surprise starter Jarrett Jack, a career-high 24 from rookie Harrison Barnes in his debut at power forward and 21 from Klay Thompson.

The sixth-seeded Warriors, who became the second road team to win in this postseason following Chicago’s victory at Brooklyn on Monday, wrested home-court advantage in the series from the NBA’s best home team. The series shifts to Oakland for Game 3 on Friday night.

“They were knocking down shots,” Denver’s Andre Iguodala said in an understatement.

Better than they ever had before in a playoff game, with a franchise playoff-record 64.6 percent (51-of-79) from the field.

“We are a very good shooting basketball team,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “We’ve got guys that can knock down shots. You talk about Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, in my opinion, they’re the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.”

The third-seeded Nuggets were an NBA-best 38-3 at home during the regular season but needed Andre Miller’s last-second shot to beat Golden State by a basket in the opener and extend their franchise-best winning streak to 24 games.

With Golden State losing Lee to a torn hip flexor and the Nuggets getting top rebounder and energizer Kenneth Faried back from a sprained ankle, this one looked like a mismatch, even Curry acknowledged.

And it was, but not the way the Pepsi Center crowd anticipated.

“We’re a resilient team, said that all year. When guys go down, other guys step up,” said Curry, who played despite a tender left ankle after turning it late in the third quarter. “We showed that tonight. Big road win for us. We’ve got to go home and protect our home court.”

Even without their All-Star, the Warriors outrebounded the Nuggets 36-26.

“We didn’t do much of anything very well,” Nuggets coach George Karl lamented. “I don’t think I ever coached a game when a team got three 35-point quarters, maybe in my career. Ever.”

The best anybody shot against Denver during the season was 54 percent, by the Los Angeles Lakers way back on Nov. 20, and the most points the Nuggets had allowed was 126 at San Antonio on Nov. 17.

Ty Lawson and Corey Brewer each scored 19 points for Denver, and Iguodala and Miller each had 18, but the Nuggets were playing catch-up from the middle of the second quarter and couldn’t keep up with so many of the Warriors’ shots falling, negating Denver’s league-best transition game.

Lee led the league with 56 double-doubles and had another before getting hurt in the fourth quarter of the series opener Saturday. The Warriors were 3-18 without him over the past three seasons, but Jackson mixed and matched his lineup to make up for his All-Star’s absence on this night, when Lee gave advice to his teammates during timeouts.

The Nuggets were hoping Faried’s return would help reverse their 10-point disadvantage on the boards in Game 1. But he was rusty, and the same problems that plagued Denver in the opener — missing too many open shots, getting outmuscled on the glass and giving up open 3-pointers — haunted the Nuggets once again and even more so.

Curry scored 15 points in the second quarter and hit four jumpers during a 14-5 run the Warriors used to grab control and take the air out of the Pepsi Center as they cruised into halftime with a 61-53 lead that would never be threatened in the second half.

Curry swished another sweet jumper to start the third quarter, and the Warriors opened up a 17-point lead they would stretch to 20 in the fourth quarter.

“The game plan tonight was to keep the ball out of Stephen Curry’s hands, but he came off [the pick-and-rolls] and had open looks and then he started finding people,” Lawson said. “After that, we started scrambling, and we can’t play like that.”

The Nuggets pulled within 76-69, but Thompson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner and Curry a 3 from the left to make it 82-69. Both were wide open, as Denver’s mismatched defenders were again running ragged trying to keep up with the Warriors, who handled the altitude just fine.

Denver got its deficit down to 115-105, but this time it was Jack’s turn to make a wide-open 3 with the Nuggets’ defenders scrambling around.

Faried finished with four points and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

The arena was half-empty by the time the horn sounded, a solitary fan yelling derisively, “Tacos!” when Evan Fournier’s free throw fell through the hoop to give the Nuggets 110 points, the magic number for a promotion in which fans get discounted tacos.

Game notes

The Warriors shot a sizzling 61 percent in the first half, when they outrebounded the Nuggets 21-14. … The Nuggets’ previous loss at home was 112-108 to the Washington Wizards on Jan. 18. … Denver had just eight fast-break points, compared to Golden State’s 14. … Curry’s 30-10 playoff game was the first for the franchise since Sleepy Floyd on May 10, 1987.

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“You could see the look on everybody’s face change,” Jazz guard Randy Foye said. “Nobody said anything. It was just everybody had that look on their face, ‘You know what time it is. You know what we have to do.’ ”

While the Warriors had a chance to seal a playoff spot, Utah seized the opportunity for itself.

Mo Williams hit a huge 3-pointer in the final seconds to finish with 25 points, Al Jefferson added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the Jazz regained the Western Conference’s final playoff position over the Lakers by holding off the Warriors 97-90 on Sunday night for a monumental road win.

“I can’t say enough about this group of guys,” Corbin said. “This was all about them and them wanting it, and the way they came out. Although we made some mistakes in the game, everybody laid everything they had in them out there on the floor.”

Williams’ 3-pointer with 13.4 seconds remaining put Utah ahead by six and spoiled Golden State’s shot to clinch a playoff berth in front of a 29th sellout crowd of 19,596. The Jazz moved a half-game ahead of the Lakers for the eighth seed. Utah also owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1 against the Lakers, who lost to the Clippers 109-95 earlier in the day.

“Four games left. We’ve got have them,” Jefferson said.

Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half and Klay Thompson had 20 points for the Warriors, who were trying to clinch a postseason spot for the first time since 2007 and just the second in 19 years.

Now that celebration will have to wait.

David Lee, who has never been to the playoffs in his eight NBA seasons, added 21 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State, which was outplayed inside by Utah’s front line of Jefferson, Derrick Favors (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (11 points, six rebounds) most of the way.

“We still control our own situation, which is good, but you don’t want to have this feeling again,” Curry said. “We’ve got to get it done and there’s no excuse for us not to.”

The Jazz looked every bit like a team playing with everything at stake, just as Corbin had hoped before the game. They outhustled and outmuscled Golden State for most of 48 minutes, holding off one final flurry for a critical win in front of the an Oracle Arena crowd eager to celebrate.

After the Warriors went down 11 points late in the fourth quarter, Thompson and Curry each hit a 3-pointer to cut Utah’s lead to 91-86 with 3:28 to play. Reserve Draymond Green followed by tipping in Lee’s miss to bring the Warriors within three.

Jefferson hit a jumper that silenced fans standing all over the arena, then Lee answered with a layup to bring the crowd back to full throat. Golden State forced another stop, but wasted the offensive opportunity.

Green had his layup blocked by Favors, who keyed Utah’s defense all game, but got the ball back and tossed it out to Jarrett Jack — who missed a contested 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. The Jazz isolated Williams at the top of the arc against Green, and he drained the shot that sent Utah home with a monumental win.

“I don’t know what’s going on with them, to be honest,” Williams said of Golden State’s playoff-starved crowd. “We’ve got enough going on with us.”

The Warriors are just a game ahead of Houston — which owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 3-1 — for the West’s sixth seed. Golden State still needs any combination of two wins or losses by the conference’s ninth team to seal a playoff berth.

“They played like a team that their playoff lives depended on this game,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “We played, at times, like a team that had a cushion.”

Curry kept the Warriors close by scoring the first nine points during his team’s erratic start, which included four turnovers in the game’s first 4:12. He made his first three shots from the arc, the last giving Golden State a 38-29 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Jazz erased that deficit in fewer than four minutes behind a 17-4 run capped by Gordon Hayward’s 3-pointer. After going ahead by 10 points on consecutive deep 3s by Foye and Williams, Utah held on for a 56-48 halftime lead.

Golden State sliced Utah’s lead to a point in the third quarter before the Jazz took control again. Jefferson converted a layup over Jack to start a three-point play that highlighted a 10-1 spurt that put Utah up 75-65, a deficit the Warriors never could overcome.

“No way,” Favors said, “did I want to see them celebrate.”

Game notes

Utah won the season series 2-1. … Jazz reserve F Alec Burks sat out with a sprained right ankle, which occurred during Utah’s win over New Orleans on Friday night. He is day to day. … The Warriors signed G Scott Machado from Santa Cruz of the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract.

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The Warriors’ David Lee, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson also were called for technicals, along with Indiana forward David West, after the brief scuffle during the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ 108-97 win.

It began when Lee and Hibbert exchanged shoves under the basket after a missed shot with 6:10 remaining. Curry tried to push Hibbert away and was shoved to the court.

No players left the bench. Hibbert said he believes he will face a suspension.

“Seriously, I didn’t even feel him,” Hibbert said of Curry. “I saw some light-skinned guy. I don’t know if it was Klay Thompson or Steph Curry, I just knew there was a light-skinned guy by me.”

Curry scored a season-high 38 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors saw their three-game winning streak end. The Pacers built a 95-85 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and not even the scuffle shook them up as they ended a three-game skid against Western Conference teams.

“There were two or three guys coming after [Hibbert],” said West, who led the Pacers with 28 points. “We preach and talk about togetherness, so that’s part of what we’re going to do. We’re going to defend one another. They came after him too many times.”

When play resumed, Ian Mahinmi made a free throw, West added three baskets, Lance Stephenson hit a 3-pointer and Paul George scored on a jumper to give the Pacers a 104-87 lead with 3:28 left to play.

“It was just physical play,” Curry said. “Teams are gearing up for playoff basketball and amping up the intensity a little bit.”

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