Curry pours in 39 on return, but Warriors fall 127-120 to Timberwolves
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SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry lit up the Chase Center for 39 points in 32 minutes Friday night, yet the Golden State Warriors surrendered a 127-120 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who played without injured guard Anthony Edwards.
The two-time MVP had missed two weeks and five games with a quad strain. He scored 10 points in his first eight-minute stint and finished 14-of-28 from the field, including three fourth-quarter 3-pointers that briefly cut a double-digit deficit. Still, Minnesota posted 39 points in the final period to drop Golden State to 13-13.
“Our defense let us down tonight,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. The club entered the game with the league’s third-best defensive rating and had held four of its previous five opponents below 100 points while Curry was out.
Golden State was short-handed inside. Draymond Green remained away from the team for personal reasons, and Al Horford sat out with sciatica. Minnesota’s frontcourt took advantage as Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle combined for 51 points and 23 rebounds.
“Draymond and Al understand how to make their presence felt,” Curry said. “But we didn’t have them. We had to figure out a way to get it done. We just didn’t.”
The Warriors’ attack has lagged all season; they sit 22nd in offensive rating. Kerr kept Curry home during a recent three-game road trip, opting for treatment and a midweek scrimmage to accelerate his conditioning. “He looked great,” Kerr said. “Just the movement, the flow.”
Curry added 14 points in the fourth quarter, but the Timberwolves’ late surge preserved their win and widened the gap between the teams in the Western Conference playoff race. A victory would have brought Golden State within 1½ games of sixth-place Minnesota; instead, the Warriors trail by 3½.
Source: ESPN
