Timberwolves outlast Warriors 114-110 and match a season high with 21 3-pointers
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Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
Naz Reid had 20 points and a season-high-tying 12 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who matched their season best with 21 3-pointers on 40 attempts.
“When we go to the paint where there’s a crowd, make a kick out. It’s just simple basketball stuff we’ve been doing really well,” coach Chris Finch said.
Steph Curry scored 31 points for the Warriors, but he missed the tying 3-point try with 1:27 to go.
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After rebounding a forced airballed 3-pointer by Edwards, Curry took the rebound all the way for a layup that cut the lead to one. But Edwards got fouled and made two foul shots, before rebounding Klay Thompson’s missed 3-pointer from the wing — a play Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori correctly warned the players to watch for in the huddle.
Mike Conley added 14 points and seven assists for the Wolves (49-22), who are one game behind Denver (50-21) in the Western Conference race and a half-game back of Oklahoma City (49-21). The Nuggets passed the Thunder, who lost at Milwaukee on Sunday.
The Warriors led by 12 points in the first half. With the most prolific 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA on the other side in Curry, the Wolves put on an outside shooting display in tribute.
With Curry resting late in the third quarter and well into the fourth at the start of a five-games-in-eight-days trip, the subs carried the Wolves on a plus-12 stretch. Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit three 3-pointers during that run.
“Everybody was talking, communicating,” Edwards said. “It was a great thing to see. I was happy sitting over there. I can rest and get a break.”
This was Golden State’s only visit to Minnesota this season, giving both teams more than four months to cool off from the consecutive games the Wolves won in San Francisco, the second of which Draymond Green was ejected from in the opening minutes for putting Gobert in a headlock.
The Warriors (36-34) were embarrassed by their lack of effort in a 12-point loss to Indiana at home on Friday, still trying to find themselves with their hold on 10th place in the Western Conference for the final play-in spot in precarious position with surging Houston (35-35) one game behind them.
“The habits were much improved tonight — the defensive focus, the effort, the energy,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m confident that if we compete and play like that these last 12 games that we’re going to put ourselves in position.”
The Wolves had eight turnovers in their first 17 possessions over less than eight minutes, and they set a season low with 18 points in the first quarter, but Reid came to their rescue again.
The fan favorite, who delighted the Target Center crowd with 18 points on his beach towel giveaway night on Friday in a decisive win over Cleveland, made his first five attempts from 3-point range. Reid is averaging 14.6 points in 15 career games against the Warriors, the second-highest of his career against any other NBA team.
“We’re very deep. This team is tremendous,” Reid said. "Everybody puts their best foot forward, so everybody has the right intentions. Everybody has the right mindset. It’s anybody’s day at any moment.”
Up next
Warriors: Visit Miami on Tuesday.
Timberwolves: Host Detroit on Wednesday.