The energy of Thursday's win over the Houston Rockets has been short-lived for the Golden State Warriors, with the hosts going down 107-90 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night at Chase Center.
After taking a 33-31 on the first possession of the second-quarter, the Warrior offense went ice cold and never really regained its potency in what resulted as just 59 points over the final three periods.
The Timberwolves went on a 23-2 run during the second-quarter, allowing the visitors to open up a 19-point lead that Golden State never recovered from. An 11-2 run did provide some hope heading into half-time, and an 11-4 run pulled the Warriors to within three early in the third.
Yet Golden State simply had far too many significant stretches without productive offense, not helped by a season-high 22 turnovers in the 17-point loss. It also wasn't aided by some interesting lineups from Steve Kerr, though the head coach was hindered by the absence of Andrew Wiggins and Moses Moody from early in the second-half.
One particular lineup drew the ire of Warrior fans in the third-quarter, with Kerr going to a five-man combination of Pat Spencer, Lindy Waters III, Gary Payton II, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Unsurprisingly that unit struggled to create offense, going a 3-minute period without a field goal.
Steve Kerr trying to find the worst lineup to mount a comeback with pic.twitter.com/tzrXmK0PZr
— NO SAUCES ENT. (@b0y1da_) December 7, 2024
Warriors had some momentum and then Kerr put in a bad lineup lmaoo
Spencer and Lindy Waters pic.twitter.com/qkDppFGOgq
— NO SAUCES ENT. (@b0y1da_) December 7, 2024
Genius stuff by Kerr going to the Spencer, Waters, Podz, Green, TJD lineups as the Warriors are getting back into the game.
He’s a completely unserious coach this season
— Bryan Gibberman (@BryanGibberman) December 7, 2024
A couple of Stephen Curry threes pulled Golden State within three early in the fourth, offering them a legitimate shot of still winning the game. Unfortunately the offense only got worse from there, with the Warriors scoring four points over the next seven minutes.
Curry had 23 points after missing Thursday's game, but was inefficient in shooting just 6-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-9 from 3-point range. Only three other Golden State players reached double figures, with Jonathan Kuminga scoring 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting after his career-high 33-point performance against the Rockets.
Draymond Green returned in a bench role, allowing Kuminga to retain his spot in the starting lineup. The veteran forward provided some energy with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in just over 26 minutes.
The Warriors furthered their offensive woes from recent games by shooting just 39% from the floor and 28.2% from 3-point range. They'll now have the chance to respond against the same opponent at the same venue on Friday night.