The Golden State Warriors got humbled on Friday night, losing a one-sided affair to the Minnesota Timberwolves despite the return of Steph Curry and Draymond Green. But they didn’t have to wait long for revenge, as the teams were partaking in a baseball series, with the Dubs once again hosting the Wolves on Sunday night.
It was either going to be a satisfying win, or a painful loss. And to the delight of a raucous Chase Center crowd, it was the former, with the Warriors beating the Timberwolves 114-106.
They had to fight for it, though. With Andrew Wiggins sidelined by his ankle injury, the Dubs went with a starting lineup of Curry, Green, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, and Jonathan Kuminga, with Payton defending Anthony Edwards and Kuminga guarding Julius Randle.
Kuminga got the action started with a gorgeous take and finish at the rim on the first possession, and then the Warriors wouldn’t lead again for a very long time. The turnovers that plagued the Dubs on Friday — they had a season-high 22 — were out in full force again in the first quarter, with everything from overly-excited transition passes, to inaccurate swings, to inbounding miscommunications. The had four turnovers in the first five minutes, trailed 14-7, and had to replace Payton with Moses Moody after GPII picked up a pair of fouls.
But Moody, like Payton, played strong defense on All-Star Edwards, and the Warriors rattled off a 5-0 run. But Minnesota answered with an 8-2 run while stifling Curry, who was having a hard time getting open. Behind a 5-for-11 performance from deep, Minny led 30-21 after one quarter, with the Warriors shooting only 2-for-12 from distance.
The second quarter started well, with the Warriors securing an 8-2 run to start, and Curry starting to find a rhythm, with eight points in the first two minutes. But the sloppy turnovers remained, and the Wolves built the lead up again. But even with Curry out in the middle portion of the quarter, the Dubs made a run behind a burst from Hield, and fulled back within two points. The teams went back-and-forth, with Golden State never quite getting over the hum. It seemed like the Warriors were gaining momentum and closing the gap as halftime neared, but the Wolves made threes on both ends of a two-for-one, and led 58-49 at halftime.
But as they have for most of the year, the Third Quarter Warriors arrived just in time. After an early Edwards three pushed Minnesota’s lead to 12, the Warriors started to go on a run. Green picked up his fourth foul less than five minutes into the frame, which seemed to signal danger, but the Dubs were not flustered, in part because of how well Kevon Looney was playing. Kuminga dug deep into his bag of tricks for a series of big shots, scoring at the halfway mark to give the Warriors a 73-72 lead ... their first since his opening bucket.
From there, the teams traded shots, as the action became riveting. Tremendous quarters from Kuminga, Looney, Curry, and Brandin Podziemski helped the Warriors stay afloat, but a Nickeil Alexander-Walker three with five seconds left tied the game. No worry though, as Curry would drain a 40-footer at the buzzer to give Golden State a 93-90 lead going into the final quarter.
In the fourth it was Looney again making his mark, doing work on both ends of the court. Curry took his break with the Warriors holding a 97-91 lead, and Green picked up his fifth foul with nine minutes left. But the Warriors were cooking regardless, and Hield — who had an exceptional quarter — dropped in a three with 8:20 remaining to give the Dubs an 11-point lead.
And then the failures that have plagued the Warriors with leads arose. Alexander-Walker and Edwards put the Wolves on their backs, running off a 15-3 run and restoring the lead to Minnesota. The Warriors were searching for something — anything — when Kuminga broke down the defense and slammed home a violent dunk with three minutes left, giving Golden State a one-point lead.
They got a stop, and Curry made a pair of free throws to push the lead to three. The teams traded tough, scoreless possessions, until the deciding sequence of the game: with just over a minute remaining, Payton grabbed a steal and pushed the ball downcourt, with Hield draining a three to give the Dubs a six-point lead with less than a minute remaining. They got one more stop, and then Green rumbled down the lane, nearly ripping the rim off in a dunk that gave the Warriors an eight-point lead, all while he hit Curry’s patented night-night celebration.
That set the final score at 114-106, and sends the Dubs into the NBA Cup tournament with a win fresh in their memory.
Curry led the way with 30 points and eight assists on 8-for-18 shooting, while Hield dropped in a magnificent 27 on 10-for-18 shooting, and Kuminga 20 on 7-for-16 shooting. Despite the sloppy first quarter, the Warriors ended up with just 11 turnovers, and outrebounded the Wolves 56-46.
They now get two days off before facing the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup.