Golden State Warriors’ first-quarter explosion sets up important win over Timberwolves

The Golden State Warriors have recorded a crucial win over a conference rival, with a scinitalling first-quarter display setting up a 23-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In what was clearly their best 12-minute stretch of the season, the opening period was a reminder of the explosive, game-decisive phases that’s become synonymous with the Warriors’ dynasty years.

The Golden State Warriors’ offense was at its free-flowing best as they tallied up 137 points in an impressive win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

It became evident from early in the contest that the Timberwolves’ twin-tower lineup, featuring Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, were going to be ill-equipped to handle Golden State’s perimeter threats.

With Draymond Green’s fingerprints over everything, the Warriors’ offense was a fluid, rhythmic orchestra that preyed on Minnesota’s missed rotations. That subsequently led to a myriad of open threes and easy looks at the rim, the latter of which the Timberwolves’ defense is designed to stop.

47 points was reminiscent of their 50-point second quarter against the Sacramento Kings just over a month ago, but this time the defense was much more in sync as they held the Timberwolves to just 27 points.

Minnesota threatened at times but Golden State kept them at bay over the following two quarters — the lead was exactly 20 after each of the opening three periods. The Timberwolves made their big push at the start of the fourth and cut the margin to ten, although that was quickly put to bed thanks to a trio of triples from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Again led by their MVP-candidate in Curry, Golden State were in perfect synergy as they fed all their key scorers in an even display. Curry’s rebounding made him look like the seven-foot inside presence, recording 11 to go with 25 points and eight assists.

Green continually made made use of Towns’ inability to stay in front of him off the dribble, putting up a season-high 19 points as his scoring continues to show impressive signs of life. He also had a game-high 11 assists as Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson combined for 38 points on 15-for-25 shooting and 8-for-14 from three-point range.

Just as importantly, Jordan Poole had his second-straight nice performance off the bench, tallying 24 points, four rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes. He was ably supported by his backcourt teammate Donte DiVincenzo who had 14 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.

Jonathan Kuminga also continued his growth into Warriors style basketball, trusted by Steve Kerr to play closing first-half minutes alongside four starters. That came after an efficient opening to the game where he had seven points, rebounded hard and produced laser-focused defense.

The Warriors continue to build into something that mirrors their level at the beginning of last season, now moving to 11-10 before an important battle with the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday.