Minnesota Timberwolves vs Golden State Warriors Match Player Stats On Nov 08, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 9, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Relying on their depth with All-Star forward Kevin Durant unavailable, the Golden State Warriors put away the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-101 on Wednesday night in a battle of NBA division leaders.

Minnesota had moved to the top of the Northwest Division with five consecutive wins, but the streak ended with Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson orchestrating a 44-26 third-quarter blitz.

Golden State (9-3) won its fifth consecutive game.

Thompson finished with 28 points, and Curry contributed 22 points and eight assists.

The bench not only contributed 57 points to the win, led by Omri Casspi with 13 points and Nick Young with 12, but the backups held onto the ball better than the starters while helping to shut down a Minnesota offense that was averaging 109.4 points per game.

The Pacific Division-leading Warriors, who have won 18 of the last 21 meetings between the teams, were without Durant and his 24.8 points per game because of a left thigh contusion.

The Timberwolves (7-4) were shooting 48.6 percent from the field during their winning streak, but the Warriors' defense forced a series of off-balance shots that led to Minnesota hitting just 41.3 percent for the night.

Worse still, the Timberwolves were 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Forward Anthony Wiggins scored 17 points and center Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota's Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson each scored 14.

After a sluggish first half that ended with Golden State up 51-50, the Warriors began to open the game up in the third quarter, Thompson scoring 13 points in the period.

Golden State pushed the lead to double figures at 76-66 when Thompson hit center JaVale McGee with a pass on the run for a dunk with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

NOTES: Golden State SF Kevin Durant (left thigh bruise) could have played but was held out as a precaution. Looking at Saturday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Durant said, "Probably. We'll see." ... F Andre Iguodala started in place of Durant, but Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau didn't make too much of it. "(Iguodala has) been an All-Star. Actually, he's a starter. He does a lot of the same things that Draymond (Green) does." Iguodala scored 11 points. ... Halfway through the second quarter, the sellout crowd stood to sing "Happy Birthday" to beaming former Warriors coach Al Attles, whose 81st birthday was Tuesday. ... Golden State SG Klay Thompson has made at least one 3-point shot in 66 consecutive games, the NBA's best current run and ninth best all-time. G Stephen Curry is the record-holder at 157 games.