Steph Curry takes over late to shoot down Timberwolves

The baby-faced assassin had seen his team blow too many big leads in the 4th quarter, so he took personal responsibility for closing out Minnesota.

Steph Curry had seen the Golden State Warriors lose games by going cold in the 4th quarter too many times this season. So when Saturday’s road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves got within two points with under four minutes to go, Curry took matters into his own hands, going on a personal 11-2 run to put away the Wolves,

Curry scored 31 points and dished 10 assists in a 113-103 win. The Warriors broke a three-game losing streak that spanned nearly two weeks, dating back to when the Dubs beat the Timberwolves with Curry scoring 30 points Dec. 8.

Golden State led by as many as 21 points during the second quarter, a dangerous thing to do given their recent performances. Taking a double-digit lead has nearly guaranteed that the Warriors would blow that lead in the second half during their recent 2-9 slide. That happened Saturday as well, with the Timberwolves retaking the lead with 10:15 to go in the 4th.

But a funny thing happened. Not only did the Warriors keep scoring, they held on thanks to superior shooting at the free throw line. Rudy Gobert missed the and-one after his go-ahead basket, and Jonathan Kuminga made three out of his next four free throws. Golden State went 9-for-10 on free throws in the final quarter, while Gobert went 0-for-3 and the Wolves were 6-for-10.

The Curry Flurry saved the game. With the Dubs clinging to a 96-94 lead, Curry hit a three, then drew a foul on Jaden McDaniels for two free throws. After Andrew Wiggins blocked Julius Randle, Curry made another three, and after two Wolves free throws, he made a 25-footer, and it was night-night in Minneapolis.

With Draymond Green out with ankle soreness, or perhaps legally prohibited from being within 100 feet of Gobert, the Warriors started Kyle Anderson and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the front court. TJD had a huge game matched up with Gobert, scoring 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting, along with nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Eight of those points came in the final quarter. Jackson-Davis scored on three straight possessions midway through the quarter, including a putback dunk of a Kuminga miss.

That was another big difference from recent Warriors games: Four dunks in the final quarter. When Minnesota got within seven points late, Andrew Wiggins slammed the basketball, and the door on the game, on an alley-oop from Gary Payton II.

Wiggins had a limited shooting game, putting up what experts call a “Come Original,” because he shot 3-for-11. But he also had three steals and two blocks, excelling during a first half where the Warriors held the Wolves to 37 points.

Kuminga proved that amber was the color of his energy by also shooting 3-for-11, and scoring 11 points. Buddy Hield also had 11, Brandin Podziemski scored 12 and collected 7 rebounds, and Gary Payton II had four assists and a non-Curry game-high +12 plus/minus. All 10 Warriors had at least one assist as the team finished with 30.

For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards shot 6-for-20, scoring 19 points. That was tied for the team-high with the Michael Jordan of Delaware, Donte DiVincenzo. Gobert had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and severe flashbacks to France’s loss to Team USA in the gold medal game at the Olympics, where Curry sank a series of three-pointers over hapless French centers.

Golden State played good defense in the first half, but Minnesota also shot unusually poorly. That rebounded in a big way in the third quarter, when the Wolves shot 15-for-21 and made six threes on their way to 38 points. It could have been worse, if it weren’t for Minnesota’s five turnovers, solid shooting from Podz, and DiVincenzo whiffing on the free throw after Dennis Schroder’s first technical foul as a Warrior. Someone had to step up with Draymond out!

Podziemski hit a big shot to end the first half, continuing his uptick in outside shooting, In his last six games, he’s 11-for-25 from behind the arc.

Have the Warriors turned a corner in terms of late-game execution? Perhaps they needed more confidence from Curry and the other guards. Or maybe they just need to play the Timberwolves more often.