Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors welcomed back Draymond Green to the starting lineup Monday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors now have the Big Four healthy, and they were able to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 to win their fourth in a row.

The Warriors started the first quarter with a 13-0 run. Steph Curry mad two-three-pointers and Kevin Durant had one. Minnesota came back with an 8-0 run and closed the gap to just one, trailing 19-18. The Warriors regained their composure and finished the quarter leading 30-24.

In the second quarter, each team scored 33 points. The Wolves tied the game at 46 about midway through the period. It was the first time that the Wolves didn’t trail in the game. The Warriors regained the lead and never relinquished it the rest of the game. The Warriors led 63-57 at the end of the first half. The half also ended with Klay Thompson hitting a three just as the buzzer sounded. Green finished the first half with 7 points, six rebounds, and five assists in 15 minutes of action.

Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr tried to give Green rest as he misses about five weeks of play due to a toe injury. Curry had 13, Thompson 15, and Durant 15. Alfonzo McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko, coming off the bench, kicked it with 7 and 5, respectively.

Minnesota’s offense was led by Karl-Anthony Towns with 13. Derrick Rose had 13, Andrew Wiggins 8 and Dario Saric 9.

In the third quarter, the Warriors showed the fans in the arena and those watching on TV that they are a team that is hungry for another championship. They outplayed the Wolves on both ends of the court. They outscored the Wolves 28-20 to take a 14-point lead at the end of three periods of play. They were outstanding on defense, and Curry scored 16 points in the stanza.

Minnesota went on a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter. The Warriors responded with several threes to go up 107-93 with 4:05 left in the game. Minnesota did get a little closer, but they did not have enough firepower to overtake the Warriors. The Warriors won 116-108.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors, with the win, improve to 19-9.

Minnesota drops to 13-14.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 38 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Curry made 7 3-point shots in 14 attempts, and the Warriors, as a team, knocked down 19 threes.

Klay Thompson finished with 26, Kevin Durant had 22. Draymond Green did not score in the second half, but he was a force on defense. He pulled down 10 rebounds and had 7 assists in his return from the DL. Jonas Jerebko had quite a night with 10 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists.

The Warriors shot 41.9% from the floor. Minnesota shot 45.8% from the floor, but made just 7 3-pointers in 25 attempts. The Warriors outrebounded the Wolves 49-42. Each team committed 16 turnovers.

The Warriors were named as Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine earlier on Monday. They became only the fourth team to earn the honor.

Up Next: The Warriors resume play Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors beat the Warriors in overtime in Toronto, and the Dubs want to avenge the loss on Wednesday at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm PST.