On the back of Monday’s career-high 16 points against Portland, Jawai finished with six points and seven rebounds – including six offensive boards – in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 146-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Jawai again played extensively, taking to the pine for just over 13 minutes to help rest Wolves centre Al Jefferson, who is making a comeback from a knee injury and achilles tendonitis.

The Bamaga behemoth is making the most of opportunities gained since his trade from the Dallas Mavericks late in the pre-season – mostly because of injuries to forward Kevin Love, who is out with a broken hand – and the Timberwolves’ desire not to overplay Jefferson in the early stages of his comeback.

While the news for Jawai has been good on a personal note, it is not as happy for Minnesota, which has lost seven straight since beating New Jersey in the season opener.

Given his recent performances, Jawai is likely to gain strong minutes over the next week against Portland (tomorrow), former team Dallas (Saturday) and at Memphis (Sunday) before Love returns.

In other NBA action, Jason Richardson scored 29 points, while Steve Nash added 21 points and tied his season-high with 20 assists as the Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-115.

The Suns eclipsed the 100-point barrier for the eighth straight game to open a season, which hadn’t happened since the 1990-91 season.

Jared Dudley contributed 18, Amare Stoudemire added 17, Grant Hill had 11 and Channing Frye 10 for the high-flying Suns, who entered the game averaging a league-high 109.7 points a game.