MINNEAPOLIS – Stephen Curry poured in 37 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 points, but it was not enough as the Minnesota Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 37-23 in the fourth quarter leading to the Timberwolves 126-114 victory over Golden State tonight.
Not the best way to start the final four-game road trip of the season if you are the Warriors, who looked sluggish for most of the game and will definitely be looking for the final spot in the Play-in Tournament.
“It’s just a tough situation when you know you need this win, you know you need to get things pointed back in the right direction and you don’t get it done,” Curry said.
Curry, who recorded 30-plus points in 14 of the last 16 games, struggled early to locate his shooting stroke. He shot 11-of-27 from the floor, including a dismal 6-of-17 from behind the three-point line. The two-time MVP led the team with eight assists.
In the third quarter, Curry lifted Golden State on his back scoring 16 points over the final three minutes giving the Warriors a two-point lead thanks to a four-point play putting Golden State up 91-89.
Wiggins early 10 points in the first quarter was a good start for the team. He finished with 18 points in the first half. Wiggins played his first game in Minnesota since he was traded by the Timberwolves last season. He received a nice ovation from fans in attendance at the Target Center before the game.
Draymond Green finished with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds. Kent Bazemore scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
“We obviously didn’t play well in the first half,” said Curry. “Against a team that has confidence no matter what their record is, they have been playing well as of late life, it’s hard to win.”
After being outscored 35-25 in the first quarter by the Timberwolves, the Warriors returned the favor in the second quarter outscoring Minnesota 33-25 to tie the game at 58-58 before halftime. But a dunk by Karl-Anthony Towns in the closing seconds gave Minnesota a 60-58 lead heading into the break.
Towns finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves who outrebounded Golden State 57-34. Minnesota had 16 offensive rebounds compared to four rebounds by the Warriors.
“I thought we came out pretty strong and got off to a good start,” Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr said. “What killed us was the rebounding. Obviously, we had a size disadvantage but that doesn’t account for the 16 offensive boards they had.”
Ricky Rubio led the Timberwolves with 26 points and rookie guard Anthony Edwards scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter. After Minnesota got back-to-back three-pointers from Juancho Hernangomez to push their lead 10 points in the final period, the Timberwolves never looked back. They were red-hot on three-pointers, shooting 20-of-41 from behind the line.
The Warriors will look to snap their two-game losing streak with a win in Houston on Saturday night.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
