Warriors Hold on for Ugly Win over Wolves

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves for an ugly road win.

Two nights after their “best” loss of the season at San Antonio, the Golden State Warriors came away with one of their ugliest wins of the season, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-104.

The Warriors haven’t lost back-to-back games all season, but this one was pretty close as Minnesota’s young talent did not back down against the defending champs. Early on, it looked like the Warriors were going to be able to get out and run and gun their way to an easy victory, but Ricky Rubio and Karl-Anthony Towns would not let their team go down.

Both Rubio and Towns hit consecutive threes in the first quarter. Then Stephen Curry, who struggled shooting the ball again, gave us a highlight, crossing over the eventual-Rookie of the Year and splashing a step back three over him. The other young super stud the Wolves have, Andrew Wiggins, got off to a great start, but slowed down as the game went on and turned into a volume shooter.

The Warriors were frustrated in this one, both with the officials and themselves. After feeling like they weren’t given any calls, Steve Kerr picked up a technical foul in his second consecutive game, arguing with the refs about Curry not getting a call on a drive. Coming off a tough loss in San Antonio, the shorthanded Warriors were clearly getting flustered by the Wolves’ physical play.

Curry struggled with his shot again in what has to be his worst two game shooting stretch in his career. After hitting just 1/12 three-pointers in San Antonio, the MVP followed it up with a 2/9 performance. Minnesota switched everything, not allowing him to get much room coming off screens and putting big defenders on him to run him of the line.

The Warriors lost the first quarter and looked like they were going to be down at the half as Minnesota had pushed the lead up to 8, but a few defensive stops and buckets in the last minute or so brought them back into the game.

The first half was an ugly one for Golden State, but it was textbook basketball compared to the second half. Right out of the locker room, the Warriors committed three careless turnovers and continued that trend over the last 24 minutes. The Warriors’ sheer talent get them in the game as Klay Thompson was able to get several threes to go down. Oddly enough, Thompson did not hit a two pointer all game, but he was 5/5 from deep.

With the game hanging in the balance and their two rim protectors sidelined, the Warriors were saved by Marreese Speights who, uncharacteristically, played some fantastic defense. In 13 minutes, he had 8 points and blocked 3 shots while changing countless more.

Late in the fourth, the Warriors did just enough to hang on despite looking like they wanted to give the game away. They executed just enough on several Curry/Draymond Green pick-and-rolls that were able to get them good looks. Green led the team with 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Tale of the Tape

Warriors

• Field-goal percentage: 49.4% (43-87)
• Three-point percentage: 33.3% (8-24)
• Rebounds: 44
• Assists: 31
• Turnovers: 16

Timberwolves

• Field-goal percentage: 43.9% (36-82)
• Three-point percentage: 36.8% (7-19)
• Rebounds: 37
• Assists: 26
• Turnovers: 15

Good to Know

What’s on Tap

The Warriors will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.