The Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 to wrap-up this holiday weekend back-to-back.
Draymond Green and Ian Clark were unavailable to play tonight after their collision during last night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Kevon Looney got the start, but it was apparent early that they were going to have to work hard to make up for the loss.
This they did with style. Good contributions were made from Zaza Pachulia, Looney, and JaVale McGee, but ultimately this game was all about Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who combined for 85 points, 13 assists and 24 rebounds. Most impressive were Durant’s six blocks, a career high.
The Warriors started the first quarter strong, with Thompson, Curry and Durant trading shots to go on a 12-4 run. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves later answered back with a 24-11 run to close the quarter up 33-30. The only player aside from Thompson, Curry and Durant to score in the first quarter was Anderson Varejao with a layup.
The second quarter started off rough, to put it nicely. Turnovers and bad shots were a problem, and the Warriors didn’t score for the first four minutes of the quarter. They then proceeded to score 60 points in the next 20 minutes.
Durant had a three-point play, followed by a rebound cross court layup to get the offense started. The lead volleyed back and forth throughout the latter part of the quarter, with the Warriors reclaiming it within the last three minutes and building it from there. Then Durant closed out the half with a great buzzer-beater.
Kevin Durant beats the buzzer with a three after Rubio blew up the play, Steph celebrates with Mannequin Challenge pic.twitter.com/uEapbLJXtF
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 27, 2016
Durant, Curry and Thompson accounted for 40 of the Warriors 56 first half points. While Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and Kevon Looney helped round out the rest. Offensive fouls were a bit of an issue, with the Warriors getting called for two right before made shots. Curry was called for another just after forcing a turnover, his third of the night, which sent him to the bench just shy of the two minute mark.
The third quarter was all Stephen Curry, though. He started the quarter with a long 3-pointer, and finished by scoring all 12 of the Warriors final points, going back to back from downtown to close it out with 17 points, giving the Warriors a 17 point lead.
The Timberwolves ate away at that lead in the fourth quarter, managing to get it within single digits. There was a series of really awful ball handling on the defensive end, but the Warriors got it together and managed to mostly shut Minnesota down. After a long Klay 3-pointer, it quickly became a game of fouls as the Timberwolves tried in vain to get within striking distance before the Warriors closed it out 115-102.
News & Notes
- Kevin Durant is the first Warrior in franchise history to have a 25p-10r-5a-5blk game.
- The Warriors welcomed Brandon Rush back to Oracle Arena with a tribute video:
Welcome back to #WarriorsGround, @BRush_25! #DubNation pic.twitter.com/0vBzZGCTC8
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) November 27, 2016
- A true rivalry has been born at Oracle Arena and continued tonight, with Gold Suit Man once again challenging Dancing Sweater Woman to a dance-off:
Pure comedy at Oracle #DubNation pic.twitter.com/9c9uuCvdto
— Golden State of Mind (@unstoppablebaby) November 27, 2016
- Finally, because I’m an equal offender when it comes to laughing at our own players when it’s deserved, the dunk that stole JaVale McGee’s soul:
ANDREW. WIGGINS. VICIOUS. pic.twitter.com/W5Q6Nqtp2I
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) November 27, 2016
The Warriors will next face the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at 7:30pm Pacific at Oracle Arena.