Minnesota Timberwolves v Golden State Warriors Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images
The Start — Three-point Barrage
Golden State Warriors Head Coach, Steve Kerr, kept his cards close to his chest. During the pregame press conference, he was asked if he would share the starting lineup with the news that they would be without Andrew Wiggins services (ankle). He responded with a prompt “*No,*” and that he wasn’t feeling very friendly today. His team had lost six of their last seven games, including Friday’s tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves where they were so desperate to find an answer, they brought one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, Draymond Green, off the bench.
Tonight, Kerr brought Green back to the starting line-up.
Alongside him was Steph Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, and Gary Payton II. They took advantage of their quickness and skill by working the tried and true Curry-Green pick-and-roll. It generated early points and energized the home crowd, who was celebrating Filipino Heritage Night. However, what it didn’t solve was their ball security issues. They had two mind boggling turnovers early and just like Friday, it fed Minnesota’s offense. Five different Wolves sank a three pointer in the opening period, helping build an early seven-point lead.
The Warriors weren’t going down without a fight though. It was just minutes into the game where we got some fireworks. After Edwards didn’t draw a foul, he shoved Kuminga out of frustration, resulting in both teams having to be separated. Similar to their first game, Curry’s second rotation of the quarter resulted in five quick Warrior points. The Wolves hot shooting kept them ahead 30-21, but they were dodging bullets giving up four offensive rebounds.
The Middle — Curry and Edwards exchange 15-point quarters
Near the end of their previous match, Edwards was jawing at Curry. The future Hall-of-Famer responded by saying they’d run it back. Well, the 36-year-old put his money where his mouth was. An quick 8-2 Warriors run to start was a sign of things to come, as Curry drilled the tough triples that we’re accustomed to seeing while also finishing wild layups. His 15-point quarter rallied Warriors fans who were looking to get their licks back after Edwards had just told them all to go home 48 hours ago.
Fortunately, Minnesota’s shot making didn’t leave them behind. A pair of back-to-back triples for Julius Randle stemmed Golden State’s run. They punctuated the half with a Jaden McDaniels corner triple, then a beautiful sidelines out of bounds play with seconds on the clock that got Mike Conley a wide open corner three which he swished, much to the dismay of those in attendance at Chase Center. 24 first half bench points for the Wolves was a huge reason for their lead.
The Warriors came out in the third quarter looking like their dynasty years. They actively pushed the ball in transition and got paint score after paint score, catching the Wolves flat-footed on multiple possessions in a row. Things were getting a bit loopy out there, as both teams exchanging dueling turnovers early in the half, as the frenetic pace was catching up to them. However, Hield and Kuminga came alive, each scoring 11 points in the third period. The former using his deadeye marksmanship from deep, the latter with difficult contested midrange shots. They eviscerating Minnesota’s nine-point halftime lead quickly. Finch spoke after the game about how the start of the third quarter was one of two points where the Wolves lost the game. One of the biggest roars from the crowd was when Hield canned his fifth triple to regain a Warriors lead, 76-74.
However, this only woke up Edwards.
After scoring eight early points in the second half, he continued his personal “tour de force” against Golden State, responding with five straight points and jousting with the fans again. It was enough to regain momentum briefly, but just when things were tied up with a late quarter triple by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Curry gave everyone a gentle reminder of who he was.
The Finish — Hero ball kills the comeback
The Warriors held a 93-90 lead after Curry’s buzzer beating bomb. After going the entire third without a single turnover, they immediately gifted the Wolves one to start the final quarter. The crowd fought back though. Random shouts of “*Gobert sucks!*” quickly turned into a chorus of coordinated heckling, egging the Frenchman on to shut them up. He demanded the ball in the post with the six-foot-six-inch Lindy Waters III on him, but nearly turned it over by bobbling it out of bounds. He followed that up by airmailing a 14-foot jumper. Not great. It was just a foreshadowing of Minnesota’s late game struggles though. They went the first 4:18 of the quarter without a field goal until Alexander-Walker mercifully tossed in a layup to cut into a sudden 11-point Warriors lead. He sandwiched that shot with back-to-back triples, then capped it off with another tough 12-footer to miraculously carry Minnesota back into the game.
Back-to-back massive threes here in the fourth from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is up to a season-high 17 points in 19 minutes. pic.twitter.com/aGB8z9N5Ul
— Charlie Walton (@CharlieWaltonMN) December 9, 2024
Edwards, who assisted on three shots during that comeback, seemingly completed it by draining a three-pointer of his own, putting his team ahead 106-105 with just 4:47 left to go. It looked like they had did it. They faced adversity and Edwards was there to bring them home again.
Minnesota never scored again.
The mind-blowing part wasn’t that they didn’t score, but that Edwards went 0 for 5. Many of these shots were of the “hero ball” variety. Finch said after the game that the coaches had communicated with him that he had teammates wide open, but apparently it fell on deaf ears. Every time he did pass the ball, it came after pounding the ball relentlessly and it would result in a turnover, or near turnover. Remember the “*Gobert sucks!*” thing? The Wolves had a chance to regain the lead with a few minutes left in the game, but he would go 0 for 2 at the charity stripe much to the pleasure of the crowd.
The biggest punch to the gut came when the game was out of reach. With under a minute left and both teams just running out the clock, Green drove down an empty lane for a massive one-handed dunk, then celebrated with the Curry “Night night” celebration in a cringe-worthy fashion that only Green could. We won’t subject you to watching that.
As a recap, Minnesota couldn’t score for 8:05 minutes of a 12:00 minute quarter.
Minnesota Timberwolves v Golden State Warriors Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images
Edwards didn’t make himself available to the media in the locker room after the game, but he was vocal about his disappointment in his play. Throw in some expletives and you get the idea. The team didn’t seem particularly devastated by the loss, though it was a somber mood in the locker room. It felt painfully clear where the game was lost and why they failed to complete the comeback late.
There’ll be better nights.
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Comment of the Night
Agreed, Langcow. Agreed.
Up Next
Minnesota now returns home for a four-day break. They’ll play their first of two “make-up games” for teams that didn’t make the quarter-finals of the NBA Cup at home. They host the Los Angeles Lakers (12-11) on Thursday, 12/13 at 7:00 PM CT. The two teams have split the season series 1-1 so far, with the Wolves blasting them in a 29-point victory just a week ago.