Steph catches fire early, but Warriors implode in 119-114 OT loss to Wolves

Feb 2, 2023 - 4:26 AM

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The Golden State Warriors let another opportunity to win on the road slip away on Wednesday, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-114 in overtime. Missing another opportunity to climb the Western Conference standings, the Dubs fell to 26-25 on the season (ninth in the West).

Steph Curry carried the Dubs to an 11-point halftime lead with another scorching outside shooting start. Curry went 5-for-7 from three with 21 points in the first half and seemed ready to carry the Warriors to victory.

Golden State held onto a double-digit led through the third quarter, leading by 14 early in the fourth. Timberwolves big man Naz Reid and guard D’Angelo Russell kept the Dubs from putting the game away, though, and as has often been the case this season, that gave the Warriors time to implode.

Curry faded heavily in the second half. Perhaps after playing 37 minutes just a couple of days ago in Oklahoma City, Steph’s legs were not holding up like he’s used to. Regardless, no other Warriors player scored at least 19 points, and both Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole struggled mightily from the field (a combined 7-for-26).

As Golden State’s attack sputtered, the Timberwolves slowly chipped away, and retook the lead more than halfway through the quarter.

Things were tied up at 110 in the final minute of regulation. Fighting for a rebound, Thompson came away with the ball right underneath the hoop and laid it up, but Looney was called for a foul. On the other end, Reid missed an open corner three and the ball bounced out of bounds.

With 24.8 seconds remaining, the Warriors had an opportunity to take a lead. Curry dribbled up court and came off a screen from Thompson with an unexpected amount of space. Curry squared up inside the arc for a mid-range jumper, and just missed.

Russell missed a long three as the buzzer sounded and that sent the game to overtime. The Warriors offense remained stagnant and while Russell fouled out, Minnesota turned to Anthony Edwards to seal the game.