Stephen Curry heated up quickly with 13 of his team-high 25 points in a first-quarter flurry and the Golden State Warriors coasted to a 137-114 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Jordan Poole went for 24 points and Klay Thompson 21. Draymond Green had 19 points as part of a double-double with a game-high 11 assists for the Warriors, who led by 23 in the game’s ninth minute and ran up a total of 47 points in the first period alone.
Anthony Edwards had a game-high 26 points for the Timberwolves, who lost a second straight after a five-game winning streak.
Curry pieced together two 3-pointers, two 2-point baskets and three free throws in the runaway first quarter, during which four Warriors connected from beyond the arc and eight players scored. Andrew Wiggins had two of Golden State’s six 3-pointers in the period as part of a 10-point contribution.
The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 28 before making a late rally to make things at least a bit interesting.
Still down 118-100 with 7:27 to go, Minnesota got 3-pointers from D’Angelo Russell and Edwards and an interior hoop from Karl-Anthony Towns in an 8-0 burst, prompting Golden State coach Steve Kerr to call a timeout with 5:31 to go.
The break paid dividends when Curry bombed in his fourth 3-pointer of the game on Golden State’s ensuing possession. Thompson connected on his fourth and fifth 3s shortly thereafter and Minnesota never threatened again.
Curry approached a triple-double by adding a game-high 11 rebounds and eight assists for Golden State, which shot 57.5 percent overall and outscored the hosts 60-42 on 3-pointers.
Thompson shot 5 for 8 on 3-pointers to account for a majority of his points. Donte DiVincenzo matched Curry’s output with a season-best four triples, and Poole and Wiggins contributed three apiece to the team’s total of 20.
Wiggins finished with 17 points and DiVincenzo 14 to give the Warriors six scorers in double figures as they won a third straight, recording a season-high point total in the process.
Towns had 21 points, Jaylen Nowell 16, Russell 15 to complement a team-high six assists and Bryn Forbes 10 for Minnesota, which allowed a season-high point total.
Rudy Gobert gathered a team-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
–Field Level Media
