It did not take long for the Golden State Warriors to avenge their lopsided defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday as they met once again on Monday (December 9), and this time, it was the Bay area that came out on top, making the regular season series even.
Dub nation welcomed the visiting Timberwolves with a bang at the Chase Arena in California. Although Minnesota tried their best in four quarters, Golden State’s suffocating defense became the game-changer in the final minutes of regulation. Anchored by Gary Payton II and Draymond Green, the Warriors were successful in putting a stop to the Wolves’ offense in the last five minutes. They held their opponents scoreless (0-9) in the final stretch leading up to their revenge victory, 114-106.
Steph Curry led the charge with a game-high 30 points on top of his 8 assists and 4 rebounds. The 2-time MVP also made 5 of his 11 triples, including the 38-footer buzzer beater over 4-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert which immediately went viral. Pushing alongside him are Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga who tallied 26 and 20, respectively. Kevon Looney also flirted with an almost double-double, with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Green, despite only getting single digits (6 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) was a key factor during that matchup.
It was surprising how the Wolves crumbled late in the fourth period. By the 4:41 minute mark, the 2024 Western Conference Finalists already held the lead, 106-105. However, GSW’s defense and their struggles to make a single basket led to their demise. Anthony Edwards contributed a lot to those misses after taking difficult and heavily contested shots. Nevertheless, he still finished with 27 points and 6 assists. Former Knicks star Julius Randle helped with a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double while Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed 19 points as a second-stringer.
Golden State keeps their seat at the no.5 seed and will face the Houston Rockets on Thursday, December 12, for the NBA In-season tournament quarterfinals.
