SAN FRANCISCO – Klay Thompson followed up his 42-point performance from Friday night, scoring 20 of his game-high 32 points in the second half helping the Golden State Warriors overcome a pair of double-digit leads for a 109-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday evening.
Thompson nailed a clutch three-pointer with 2:05 left in the game that sent the sold-out Chase Center crowd into pandemonium. After nailing the bucket, Thompson was barking at Minnesota’s bench.
Thompson finished 12-for-23 from the field, including six three-pointers despite missing five of his first six shots from deep. Thompson knocked down a three-pointer with 6:11 left in the game cutting Minnesota’s lead to 96-92. The Warriors next possession, Thompson made another tough jumper from the right side of the floor.
Donte DiVincenzo finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. His fourth made three-pointer of the game with 3:02 left in the game put Golden State up for good. The Warriors (31-30) ended the game on a 20-8 run.
“This is a huge win not only for the standings but for the confidence of the guys,” said Golden State’s head coach Kerr said. “That was a team win. Everybody came in there and competed and played well.”
Kevon Looney recorded a game-high 17 rebounds. Tonight, marked the sixth straight game that Looney grabbed 13 or more rebounds, a career high. Looney has 24 games with double-digit rebounds, most for the Warriors since Draymond Green had 37 in 2015-16. He’s averaging a career-best nine rebounds per game this season.
“I think it has a huge impact,” said Looney. “I think last year that was one of our biggest strengths, especially in the playoffs, our rebounding.”
Golden State outrebounded Minnesota 56-43.
The last Warriors player with 13 or more rebounds in six straight games was Andris Biedrins from Dec. 28, 2008, to Jan. 7, 2009. Looney added 12 points, showing great versatility for a Warriors squad that were playing without three key starters.
Golden State were without Green, Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins again. Green missed his second consecutive game with a knee injury that is scheduled for an MRI on Monday per the team.
“It flared up today, so he will be more thoroughly checked out today by our medical staff,” Kerr said. “So it was sort of unexpected the way he came through treatment yesterday and everything was looking good, and he had to step back today.”
In crunch time, the Warriors found its “heart” late in the game when it needed it the most per DiVincenzo.
“It’s huge for your confidence,” said DiVincenzo. “So when those big dogs come back we are clicking in the second unit.”
Jordan Poole scored 15 points but shot 5-for-20 from the field, including 1-for-8 from deep while battling foul trouble. As a team, Golden State shot 39-for-91 (43-percent) from the floor and 15-of-42 on three-pointers.
Jonathan Kuminga had 13 points and five rebounds.
Naz Reid scored a career-high 30 points and added nine rebounds for Minnesota, who have lost three straight games and four of five. Like the Warriors, the T-Wolves were without two key starters in Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns.
Golden State had trouble stopping Reid, who made seven of his first eight shots for 18 points and six rebounds in the first quarter. Minnesota led 34-25 after the first quarter shooting a blistering 62-percent (13-for-21) with seven made three-pointers.
The Warriors outscored the T-Wolves 34-23 in the second quarter, erasing Minnesota’s 14-point lead taking their first lead of the game, 59-57, into halftime.
But the T-Wolves (31-32) jumped all over the Warriors in the third quarter, outscoring Golden State 30-19.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s drained a three-pointer right before the third-quarter buzzer giving Minnesota an 87-78 heading into the fourth quarter, before the Warriors outscored Minnesota 31-17 in the final frame.
Golden State has now won 12 straight home games over the T-Wolves. The Warriors improve to 22-3 this season when holding teams under 115 points for a .875 winning percentage. Only the Denver Nuggets (.882) have a higher winning percentage when holding teams under 115 points a game per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson and Anthony Edwards each finished with 12 points. Anderson tied Reid with nine rebounds. Edwards struggled early, starting the game shooting 2-for-8 with four points before finishing 5-for-19 from the field and tying teammate Mike Conley for a team-high seven assists.
Both teams return to action Tuesday night, with the Warriors hosting Oakland native Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers; while the Timberwolves continue its four-game tour through California when they head to Los Angeles for a date with the Clippers.
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