by Jerry Feitelberg

Minneapolis- The Golden State Warriors, playing the fourth game in the last five nights, fell behind by ten points after three-quarters of play but behind excellent defense outscored the Timberwolves by eighteen in the fourth quarter to beat them 116-108.

The Warriors probably played the worst game of the year the night before in Memphis. Nothing went well for them. They didn’t shoot well, were outrebounded and mad too many turnovers. It was an ugly loss. No, they had to travel to Minneapolis where the weather was cold and snowy. The Dubs were facing the Timberwolves for the second time this year. The Wolves feature three young and talented stars Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns.The Dubs beat them 115-102 at the Oracle Arena on November 21st, but it wasn’t easy. The Wolves big three give the Dubs fits as they are big and can score as well as rebound. The Warriors entered the game hoping to put the loss to Memphis in the rear view mirror. The Wolves, for some reason, do not look like a team with a record of 6-17 especially when they play the Warriors. Tonight’s game was no exception.

The Warriors did not have Zaza Pachulia available for the second game in a row. Steve Kerr started Kevon Looney in his place. The teams played a very even first quarter. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green led the Dubs in scoring. The score seesawed back and forth. The Wolves led by four 15-11 but the Dubs regained it when Draymond made a layup on a feed from Steph Curry to give the Warriors a 22-18 advantage. The Wolves went ahead 27-24, but Steph and Kevin Durant scored the last six points of the quarter to Put Golden State up by three 30-27 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was also very close. The Dubs took an eight-point lead 48-40 after Draymond Green made two consecutive three-point shots. The Wolves refused to allow the game get out of hand. They tied the score at 58, but Steph made a bucket at the end of the half to make it 60-58. The Dubs shot 47.6% from the floor. So did the Wolves. The Dubs mad six 3-point shots. So did the Wolves. The Wolves held the edge in rebounds 32-19. The Dubs made just three turnovers and were able to capitalize on eight Wolves’ turnovers to the tune of eleven points. The Wolves had just one point off a turnover.

The third quarter belonged to Minnesota. The Wolves did everything right, and things went south for the Dubs. The Wolves behind Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine outscored Golden State 30-18 to take a ten point lead at the end of three-quarters of play. The game was close for the first seven minutes of action. However, the Dubs went ice cold. They did not have a field goal in the last five minutes of the quarter. The Wolves were licking their chops as they sensed they were going to send the Dubs down to their second loss in a row, something that hasn’t happened in the 110 games.

The Dubs went on a 17-4 run to start the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson was scorching hot. He scored twelve points in the run, and the Dubs took the lead 101-92. The Warriors excelled on defense and kept Minnesota from getting back in the game. The Warriors played most of the period without Steph and Draymond. Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, David West, Shaun Livingstone and Andre Iguodala carried the Dubs into the lead. Steph and Draymond entered the game with just 3:36 left to play. The Wolves were toast. The final score for Golden State 116-108.

Game Notes- Klay Thompson led the team in scoring with thirty points. Kevin Durant scored twenty-two to go along with five assists and eight rebounds. Steph had twenty-two, nine assists, and four boards. Draymond added eighteen. Green had four assists and five rebounds. The Warriors used Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee, and David West at center. Looney and McGee ran into foul trouble early in the game but didn’t foul out. David West played well, especially in the fourth quarter. Shaun Livingstone and Andre Iguodala gave the Dubs some help offensively and both played well on defense. The Warriors recored improves to 21-4 and Minnesota drops to 6-18.

Andrew Wiggins scored twenty-five for Minnesota. Towns and LaVine added twenty-five and twenty-three respectively.The Dubs ended the game shooting 45.8% from the floor. Both teams made twenty-seven free throws. The Timberwolves outrebounded the Warriors 52-36. The Warriors had just five offensive rebounds while the big men on the Wolves snagged seventeen offensive boards.The Dubs moved the ball well as they recorded thirty assists. On defense, they had nine steals and four blocked shots. The Warriors took better care of the ball as they turned the ball over just eight times.

The Warriors travel to the Big Easy (New Orleans) to end the five-game road trip as they face the Pelicans and Anthony Davis Tuesday night. Game time will be at 5.00 pm.