Shorthanded Warriors finish road trip with 119-99 loss to Timberwolves

The Golden State Warriors finished off their four-game road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Missing several key players, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Gary Payton II, the Dubs faced an uphill battle against a mostly healthy Timberwolves squad. Indeed, they fell to 2-5 over their last seven games in a 119-99 loss.

Golden State unsurprisingly had little answer for Karl Anthony-Towns. The dynamic big man scored 16 points in the first half and finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in less than 30 minutes. The Warriors were able to limit D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, but Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jaylen Nowell, and Jarred Vanderbilt combined for 53 points.

Towns led the Timberwolves to a 30-22 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga made sure things did not get out of hand early. The sixth overall pick was the only Golden State player in double figures by halftime, recording 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting. He continued flashing his elite potential, recording 19 points and 7 rebounds on 6-for-12 shooting from the field.

Trailing 56-50 at the start of the third quarter, the Dubs received an immediate contribution from Andrew Wiggins. Although Wiggins has consistently performed well against his former team, he was abnormally quiet in the first half. However, he scored 8 points in the first three minutes of the third quarter and helped give the Warriors an early second-half lead.

Then a strange sequence, highlighted by multiple replay reviews that went the Wolves way alongside a technical foul on Steve Kerr, pushed things in Minnesota’s favor for good. The Timberwolves stretched their lead to 10 at the end of the third quarter and quickly put the game away with a hot start to the fourth.

Klay Thompson continued making incremental progress as he works his way back from two major injuries. He played 23 minutes and finished with 13 points on 5-for-14 from the field.

Jordan Poole scored a Warriors-high 20 points and had some impressive passes. However, tasked with primary ball-handler responsibilities while Curry and Green are sidelined, Poole managed just 3 assists while committing 4 turnovers.

The schedule gets easier for the Dubs over the next couple of weeks. After dropping three of their four games on this road trip, they return home for a seven-game homestand that includes matchups against multiple teams at the bottom of the standings. They face the Pistons on Tuesday, January 18th at 7:00 pm PST.

Want to talk about the Warriors latest game? Join Marc Delucchi for his postgame stream over on Twitch: