**Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors**
**Date:** January 26th, 2026
**Time:** 8:30 PM CST
**Location:** Target Center
**Television Coverage:** Peacock
**Radio Coverage:** KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
There are bad losses, and then there are losses that make you question whether everyone in the building is actually watching the same sport you are. Sunday afternoon against Golden State landed firmly in the second category.
This wasn’t just another mark in the loss column. This was a five-game losing streak crystallized into one ugly, disjointed, borderline alarming performance. Twenty-five turnovers. Sixty percent from the free-throw line. Zero urgency. Zero cohesion. And a team that looked less like a Western Conference contender and more like one killing time until the final buzzer.
That’s what makes this stretch so confounding. You can squint and explain away Houston — no Anthony Edwards, brutal free-throw shooting, still right there late. You can contextualize San Antonio — no Rudy Gobert, one catastrophic defensive quarter, still a furious comeback. Even Utah, as galling as it was, fits into the familiar Wolves genre of “took a bad opponent lightly and paid for it.”
But Chicago at home? Blowing multiple double-digit leads when they _knew_ they couldn’t afford it? And then Sunday afternoon, in a game that was supposed to be about pride, response, and urgency, watching the Wolves casually hand Golden State extra possessions like they were running a giveaway promotion?
That’s where the concern stops being about execution and starts being about engagement.
Because what we’ve seen over the last 10 days isn’t just missed shots or bad breaks. It’s lazy defense. It’s stagnant offense. It’s body language that screams “we’ll figure it out later.” And in the Western Conference, _later_ turns into the play-in faster than you think.
A week ago, Minnesota was flirting with the two seed. Today, they’re buried in seventh, staring up at a standings ladder that’s suddenly a lot steeper than it was supposed to be. The margin for error is gone. The goodwill from early January has evaporated. And if this team is serious about avoiding a first-round meat grinder, _or worse_, this spiral has to stop immediately.
The good news? They get the rarest gift in the NBA: an immediate do-over. Same floor. Same opponent. Just over 24 hours later.
No excuses. No schedule quirks. No mystery. Just basketball.
So if the Wolves are going to stop the bleeding, here’s exactly how it has to happen.
**1\. Take care of the ball.**
You cannot win an NBA game turning the ball over 25 times. Sunday was a masterclass in self-sabotage: lazy passes, dribbling into traffic, unforced errors that turned neutral possessions into automatic Warriors points. Those turnovers didn’t just cost points. They killed rhythm, energy, and any chance of sustained pressure. If Minnesota coughs the ball up at anything close to that level again, the result will be the same. This has to be a game where possessions are valued, decisions are quick, and carelessness is treated like the enemy.
**2\. Find the intensity.**
The Wolves looked like a team that didn’t want to be there on Sunday. That can’t happen again. Not at this point in the season, not with this much at stake. Golden State may be short-handed, but they’re still organized, still disciplined, and still capable of punishing teams that sleepwalk. Minnesota doesn’t need perfection. It needs effort. Sprinting back. Fighting over screens. Talking on defense. Playing like each possession matters. This team has shown it can flip that switch. The problem is it keeps choosing not to. That choice can’t exist tonight.
**3\. Hit your free throws and stop giving games away.**
This has gone from “concerning trend” to “active crisis.” The Wolves are bleeding points at the line every single night, and it’s costing them real games against real competition. Sixty percent from the stripe is unacceptable for a team with this much shooting talent. Those are free points, and Minnesota keeps leaving them on the table. Until that changes, every close game is going to feel uphill. This has to be the night where competence returns at the line, because the math isn’t negotiable.
**4\. Use your size and win the physical battle.**
There is no scenario where the Warriors should be outworking Minnesota on the glass. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. When effort drops, size advantages disappear. Gobert, Randle, and Reid need to reassert themselves as the foundation of this team. Finish possessions. Create second chances. Punish mismatches inside. Make Golden State _feel_ the size difference instead of letting them play small, fast, and free. This should be one of Minnesota’s greatest strengths. It has to show up.
**5\. Ant and Julius have to set the tone — together.**
Anthony Edwards showed up Sunday. Julius Randle did not. That imbalance can’t exist again. This team goes where those two take it, and leadership right now means more than scoring totals. It means controlling the pace, smart shot selection, and getting teammates involved. It means playing connected basketball instead of trying to rescue possessions individually. Ant doesn’t need to play hero ball. Randle doesn’t need to bully through triple teams. They need to _lead_ — emotionally, stylistically, and competitively. If they do, the rest of the roster follows. If they don’t, nothing else matters.
This is the moment where teams decide who they are.
Minnesota can keep drifting, blaming injuries, lamenting missed opportunities, and telling themselves the season is long, or they can recognize that this stretch is defining them right now. The West isn’t waiting. The standings don’t care about intent. And every loss from here on out carries compound interest.
This second Warriors game isn’t about revenge. It’s about accountability. It’s about professionalism. It’s about proving that the team we saw in early January wasn’t a mirage.
Because if the Wolves can’t summon urgency here, at home, against a familiar rival, staring down a six-game skid, then the conversation changes. Permanently.
See More:
* [Timberwolves Game Discussion](/timberwolves-game-previews)