Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry gestures during the preseason NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. (AP Photo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Shanghai, China- The Golden State Warriors won their first game of the preseason as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 142-110. The Timberwolves scored early and often in the first quarter. The Wolves starting quintet of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson torched the Dubs as the raced to an early 16-11 lead. The Wolves kept the pressure on as they could not be stopped by the Warriors defense. They led 35-31 with 1:44 left in the quarter and were able to increase the lead for the first twelve minutes of play to 44-36.

The Dubs kept pace with the Wolves in the second quarter. They were trailing by ten points when Steph Curry came back into the game. The Warriors were able to turn the game around, and they looked like the champions that they are. Steph and Klay led the offensive onslaught as they won the quarter 40-28 and led 76-72 at the half. The Dubs’ defense, fantastic last season, looked like they were back.

In the third quarter, Steph, Klay, and Kevin Durant wowed the 16,007 fans in attendance as they made several three-point shots and dominated play in the period. They outscored the Wolves 38-23 to put the game out of reach. Steph was done for the night, and he watched the game as he was sitting on the floor signing autographs for the fans.

The Warriors started Klay, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, David West, and KD in the fourth quarter. They increased the lead to twenty-six before being replaced by Omri Casspi, Patrick McCaw, and the rookie from the University of Oregon Jordan Bell. In the last six minutes of the game, Bell scored eleven points and blocked two shots. Bell’s play should get him some playing time when the season starts for real on October 17th.

Game Notes and Stats- Before the start of the game, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler each thanked the people of China for the terrific week the players experienced. The crowd enjoyed the show the teams put on, and it appeared the fans were a little bit louder when the Warriors had the ball. There was a stretch in the third quarter when the Dubs made five three-pointers in a row to blow the game wide open. The fans roared every time Steph lined up for a three and went ballistic when he made the shot.

Steph Curry was a man on a mission as he knocked down forty points and made at least six three-point shots. Klay Thompson knocked down twenty-eight, and KD had twenty-two. Draymond Green tallied eleven, and he blocked three shots.

Leading scorers for Minnesota were Andrew Wiggins with nineteen, Towns had sixteen, Jimmy Butler fifteen, Jeff Teague ten, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad each had eleven. The Timberwolves finished the preseason with a 2-1 record. The next game they play will be the first game of the 2017-2018 season.

The Warriors are 1-2 and meet the Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 13th, at the Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm. This will be the final preseason game for the Dubs. They play the Houston Rockets in Oakland on October 17th.