Warriors stumble late, crumble against Timberwolves

No Draymond, No Curry, no Payton... but they had a chance

The Golden State Warriors knew coming in that a lot would have to go right. Draymond Green out with a calf injury that we just found out will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks. Stephen Curry isn’t even with the team, having flown back early from some extra rest. And Gary Payton, the team’s most tenacious perimeter defender and owner of the springiest hops on the team? Also out.

The Warriors kept it close, with 11 lead changes, it’s not like this was a brutal loss or anything. But it still hurt. That anemic 4th quarter didn’t leave a good taste.

Mostly because of that weak ending. I don’t know the exact score trends, but Golden State was within a single basket pretty deep into the third quarter before getting blasted.

Poole and Kuminga both turned in excellent games. Wiggins provided a lot of help on both ends, including a lovely help side block that probably brought a tear to Draymond Green’s eye.

Looking ahead, the Warriors are coming home for an extended stretch, Curry and Payton will presumably be back, and the opponents are a manageable mix:

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Warriors have a 7-game homestand starting this week that begins softer and gets more difficult: Pistons, Pacers, Rockets, Jazz, Mavericks, Timberwolves, Nets. Draymond Green expected to miss the entire thing.

Karl Anthony-Towns feasted inside. He had five and-1s as the Wolves beasted their way to a 54-32 points advantage in the paint.

Kuminga may not be the defensive answer at center, but I thought he looked mostly viable out there tonight (19 points off 12 shots, to go along with 7 rebounds).

Jackson Lloyd @JLloyd952

My goodness, Jonathan Kuminga is even putting excellent defenders (Jaden McDaniels) into the padding This is 6+ FTA's in the future, easy

He had a game-high 25 points at Chicago, and was only surpassed tonight by Jordan Poole’s 20 points. That’s not bad, kid!

As always, this is just a short place holder fresh thread for our community. Full DNHQ game coverage will resume in the morning.