Warriors finally on right side of turnover disaster in stunning performance

It's usually the Golden State Warriors who carelessly turn the ball over and cost themselves a chance at victory, but on Sunday it was the Minnesota Timberwolves who looked sluggish and lazy as the visitors emerged with a stunning 111-85 victory at Target Center.

Take nothing away from the Warrior defense who forced 26 turnovers, helping them to their first victory since Jimmy Butler's season-ending ACL injury against the Miami Heat at the start of the week.

Warriors force 26 turnovers in stunning win over Timberwolves

The turnover issues began early for the Timberwolves who had seven in the first six minutes, before racking up 16 by half-time. However, without Butler's offensive creativity and with Jonathan Kuminga also on the sidelines, the Warriors were unable to truly take advantage.

While Golden State did lead for essentially the entire first-half, the hosts did finish on a 10-0 run to close to within one at half-time despite all their turnover issues. The Warriors made sure to halt that momentum as soon as the third-quarter began, putting together arguably their best period of the entire season.

Golden State outscored Minnesota 38-17 in the third, completely taking control of the game and ensuring Stephen Curry and Draymond Green didn't have to over-exert themselves on the front side of a back-to-back.

Curry had a team-high 26 points and seven assists, but it wasn't as if the 2x MVP had to carry his team in a way he usually might have to in the wake of Butler's injury. The 37-year-old shot only 7-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-10 from 3-point range in less than 28 minutes, adding an equal team-high four steals.

The Warriors shot only 31.4% from beyond the arc, but Moses Moody went 5-of-9 for an important 19 points and eight rebounds in just under 28 minutes. De'Anthony Melton and Brandin Podziemski also added 12 points apiece, while Al Horford had 10 points and five rebounds in only his second start of the season.

It was the defense that stole the show though as Golden State tallied 20 steals, allowing them to win the fast-break points battle 22-14. Anthony Edwards did have 32 points and 11 rebounds in an otherwise woeful Timberwolves offense, but the young superstar also had a career-high eight turnovers which epitomized the game overall.

The Warriors will hope they can carry this momentum through to Monday's meeting between the two teams, having ended a horror week off on the right note as they move to 26-21 on the season.