(Associated Press) — SAN FRANCISCO The other day, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had a conversation with his team about finding ways to make strides and develop by doing the little things even while they were winning.
On Sunday night, the Timberwolves prevailed over the Golden State Warriors 116-110 to earn their sixth victory in a row. Anthony Edwards led the scoring for the Timberwolves with 33 points.
In the first of two consecutive games between the teams that took place in San Francisco, Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“We need to get better by winning,” the captain said. Finch expressed his belief that the team had “left a lot of meat on the bone” during the game. “We are capable of playing much better, but that does not imply that we anticipate winning easily or anything of the sort. It’s just that when you get outrebounded, turn the ball over, and don’t make the offensive play that’s the easiest for you to make, there’s a lot of potential for improvement right there.
Although Stephen Curry scored 38 points, the cold-shooting Warriors could not receive enough contributions from their teammates to be able to compete with Minnesota’s fast-paced offense. Only 12 of Golden State’s 43 attempts from 3-point range were successful.
According to our head coach, Steve Kerr, “there is no question that we need some scoring from elsewhere.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Stephen Curry is the only player in NBA history to open a season with 11 consecutive games in which he has made at least four three-pointers in each game. When he hit a 3-pointer with 5:15 left to play, the Warriors cut the lead to 100-89 and prompted the Timberwolves to take a timeout.
At the beginning of the game, he shot 1 for 5 from deep, and then he shot 2 for 9 halfway through the third quarter, when the Warriors were shooting just 8 for 22 from the field.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors stated that his team has to improve. “Because the NBA is such a competitive league, playing against other NBA players every night is a challenging matchup.” But I think these two make a good pair.”
Following a layup by Dario Saric with three seconds remaining in the first quarter, Stephen Curry intercepted the inbounds pass and scored a basket just before the buzzer to give the Warriors a 31-29 lead. However, the Timberwolves were ahead at the break, and they extended their lead in the third quarter by scoring 35 points to grab an 89-73 lead.
Minnesota has won seven of their last eight games, and Rudy Gobert led the way with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high five blocks in the victory.
Klay Thompson scored 16 points as the Warriors dropped both games in their home back-to-back series after dropping the previous game to Cleveland by a score of 118-110. Saric scored 11 points and added 10 rebounds despite missing four of his first five shots on his route to a double-double. The Golden State Warriors have dropped their last three games in a row and four of their last five games overall.
“We’ve got to step it up,” added Green.
Following their victory on March 26 by a score of 99-96, Minnesota triumphed again at Chase Center, snapping a 12-game losing record on the Golden State Warriors’ home court.
After getting expelled the previous day for pushing Donovan Mitchell, which earned him a second technical foul, Green contributed nine points, nine rebounds, and seven assists the following day.
In the latter stages of the opening period, double technicals were given to Naz Reid and Jonathan Kuminga.
An In-Season Tournament game between the two teams is scheduled to take place at Chase Center on Tuesday evening.
“It is a different feeling in a regular-season game, to be able to go over the tape and play the same team, and to be able to make some adjustments,” said Kerr. “It is a different feeling in a postseason game.” “It feels more like the playoffs now.”