The Minnesota Timberwolves aims to replicate their performance when they seek a second win in three days over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Sunday night.
In the first game of the back-to-back set, the Timberwolves triumphed over the Warriors 107-90 on the road Friday night. Anthony Edwards led the charge with a game-high 30 points, one of five Minnesota players to score in double figures.
Last season, the Timberwolves also had a successful three-day visit to San Francisco, winning 116-110 on Nov. 12 and 104-101 on Nov. 14.
Despite their victory on Friday, Minnesota was sloppy on offense, committing 21 turnovers—the second-most they’ve had in a win this season. However, they compensated by forcing Golden State into a season-high 22 turnovers.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch credited his players’ defensive focus amid their offensive struggles.
The Timberwolves did more than just force turnovers. With big men Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid anchoring the middle, Minnesota blocked six shots and altered many others, helping to hold Golden State to 39.0 percent shooting from the floor.
While acknowledging the effectiveness of Minnesota’s defense, Warriors coach Steve Kerr cited unfamiliarity as the main issue for his team’s offensive struggles.
Following Golden State’s 99-93 home win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday, Kerr replaced Buddy Hield with Stephen Curry—who rested his knees during that victory—in the starting lineup, and had Draymond Green come off the bench in his first game back from injury. Moses Moody missed the game due to an injury, and Andrew Wiggins didn’t return after halftime because of a troublesome ankle.
Kerr might adjust the lineup on Sunday, but not because Green was displeased with being benched in favor of Jonathan Kuminga. Green had one of his best games—scoring 10 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out six assists, and recording two steals in 26 minutes—and gave the move a thumbs-up afterward.
Kuminga, who had a career-best 33 points in the win over Houston, was held to 13 points in the loss to Minnesota.
