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:
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).
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.
Trading for Dwight seems like a viable option for the Warriors but what would they have to give up for him? Looney for Dwight just seems all kind of wrong but that's why I'm not a basketball GM.
Sure this game was sad. But I hate getting beat by guys like Jaylen Nowell and Malik Beasley.