Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry gestures after making a three point shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Chase Center in San Francisco in first half action on Sun Nov 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (6-5) could not stop the best offensive team in the Western Conference Sunday night. Golden State lost their third game in a row falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-110.

After a tough loss Satrurday night in a game that seemed to go on and on for what seemed like an eternity the Warriors were back on the court at Chase Sunday night taking on the Timberwolves in the first of two games with the Timberwolves.

Minnesota is loaded with a plethora of talent in Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert. This was a tougher matchup than Saturday night’s game against Cleveland. Golden State was challenged by the sheer size of Minnesota.

Game recap: The first quarter was a close one with the Timberwolves taking as much as a five point lead but the Warriors erased the Minnesota lead going ahead 25-19 at 2:50 in a ten point swing. The Timberwolves fought back tying up this game at 25 with 1:43 left in the first 12 minutes. With one tick left on the game clock Warriors guard Stephen Curry made a layup giving the Warriors a 31-29 lead after one quarter.

The Warriors led for a minute in the second quarter 38-30 at 9:43 but Minnesota came charging back tying up the game 38-38 at 7:18. The game was tied again at 6:01 40-40 with the Timberwolves Rudy Gobert making a huge impact with spectacular play.

The Warriors had trouble keeping Minnesota off the glass due to their size. The Timberwolves had gone on a 22-8 run in the second half of the second quarter and led at the half 54-51. The Warriors were trailing at the half but they had Curry and a whole second half to get this game done.

They were only shooting at 38% to the Timberwolves 47% and so they had to be pleased with this slight deficit. Minnesota had gotten the best of the Warriors from downtown as well shooting 37% to Golden State’s 20%. Looking at only a three point deficit, the Warriors, a second half team was in great shape despite trailing.

With 8:36 remaining in the third quarter the Timberwolves continued to hang onto the lead 65-60 and with under six minutes left in the quarter Minnesota started to pull away. The third quarter turned into a disaster as the Timberwolves began to distance themselves from Golden State now leading 85-71 with under two minutes left in the quarter.

The Warriors were having trouble containing the best offensive team in the league. As has been seen so often, it was Curry doing all the heaving lifting with 25 points and Klay Thompson the only other starter with double digits. Going into the fourth quarter Minnesota led 89-73 and the Timberwolves had sucked the life out of the Chase Center crowd.

The pace in the fourth quarter began to quicken and the Chase crowd began to get involved although Minnesota continued to hold a 98-84 lead halfway through the final quarter. Minnesota was relentless striking back every time the Warriors made a move. The Timberwolves are to make some serious noise in the Western Conference this season.

The Warriors just could not stop the Minnesota penetration falling to the Timberwolves 116-110. This was the Timberwolves sixth win in a row. Curry was the high score for both teams with 38 points. Dario Saric was the high off the Warrior bench with 11 points. Anthony Edwards had the high for Minnesota with 33 points.

Golden State will get another shot at Minnesota this coming Tuesday in this two game series. It is always very difficult to beat the same team twice in a row and Minnesota just might see a different result. Tipoff for this game is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Chase Center.