What we learned as Steph, Wiggs fuel Warriors’ bounce-back win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
Another night, another “clutch game” for the Warriors – and this one went their way.
Golden State led most of the way and never trailed Wednesday night, managing to stave off a late Minnesota Timberwolves rally to dance out of Target Center with a 116-115 victory that closed a 2-2 road trip and put their record back to .500 (20-20).
Five Warriors scored in double figures, led by Stephen Curry’s 31 points, including a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining to clinch the win. Andrew Wiggins put in 24 points, 18 in the second half. Buddy Hield scored 18 off the bench, Dennis Schröder added 12 and Moses Moody 11.
Golden State shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and limited its painful turnovers while outrebounding the bigger Timberwolves 45-41. Trayce Jackson-Davis grabbed 15 – including a career-high eight on the offensive end.
Here are three observations from a conclusion that allowed the Warriors to enjoy their flight back to the Bay Area:
Fourth-Quarter Grit Was Enough
The Warriors took a nine-point lead (87-78) into the fourth quarter, which has been their danger zone all season. They pushed it 11 (92-81) with 10:53 left to play.
Could they hold on?
Golden State’s advantage was trimmed to six with 9:28 remaining, and then to three with 8:50 remaining when Jaden McDaniels drained a triple after an offensive rebound. The teams mostly took turns scoring until the Timberwolves tied it at 108-108 on two free throws by Naz Redd with 1:07 remaining.
Curry replied with a 3-ball with 47 seconds left, putting the Warriors up three and forcing a Timberwolves timeout.
Wiggins was terrific in the final minute, draining two free throws with 32.2 seconds left and snagging two rebounds inside the final 18.1 seconds – the last of which led directly to Curry’s clinching free throws.
The Warriors were outscored 37-29 in the final quarter but behind Curry (eight points), Hield (eight) and Wiggins (seven) were able to post their 12th win in 25 clutch games.
Instant Bolt Of Lightning
One of the problems the Warriors have noted over the past two months is their tendency to fall behind early and having to spend the next three quarters trying to catch up.
They might not have solved it forever, but they found the right answer in this game. In a startling exhibition of domination, the Warriors raced out to leads of 13-0 and 26-5 before ending the first quarter with a 34-12 lead.
Golden State shot 56.5 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent from deep. Curry poured in 12 points on four 3-point shots without a miss and Jackson-Davis snagged six rebounds in less than eight minutes.
The quarter was a product of determined, opportunistic activity, giving up zero points off turnovers – while scoring 12 points off Minnesota’s gifts – recording 11 assists on 13 field goals, posting a 16-8 rebounding advantage and holding the Timberwolves to 25-percent shooting from the field.
Such terrific starts can’t be the norm, but the Warriors saw what’s possible against a good defense when they execute and play with conviction from the jump.
Santos Gets First Career Start
Starting power forward Draymond Green was out with an illness. Backup power forward Jonathan Kuminga was out with a sprained right ankle. Third-string power forward Kyle Anderson was out with left hamstring soreness.
This power outage against one of the NBA’s bigger teams put Warriors coach Steve Kerr in a bind. To whom would he turn?
Gui Santos, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound combo forward who has been inactive or out of the rotation most of the 2024-25 NBA season before coming off the bench in the last five games.
Santos was faced with the daunting task of defending 6-foot-9, 250-pound Julius Randle, a three-time NBA All-Star. The 22-year-old Brazilian did not embarrass himself, as Randle finished with 17 points on 8-of-18 shooting, but Santos committed four fouls in 21 minutes.
Santos finished with five points, seven rebounds, three assists and was plus-3 for the evening.
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