Player grades: Warriors vs. Timberwolves

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance in the team’s 116-115 win over Minnesota.

Sports are a funny thing, and basketball is a funny sport. The Golden State Warriors led 34-12 after the first quarter on Wednesday and, over the course of the next 35 minutes, proceeded to squander that lead, before recovering in the final minute to eke past the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-115. Had they fully blown the lead and lost, it would have been utterly debilitating, and the low point of the season. But because they clung to victory — beating an ultra-talented Timberwolves team that had won four of their last five, while at the end of a road trip, and playing without four key rotation players despite their opponent being fully healthy — it stands as one of their best wins of the season.

What a difference two points can make.

With the win, the Dubs are back to .500, and we are back to hoping — praying — that they’re turning a corner and finding something that clicks. And while we wait until Saturday to see if they can build on this clutch win, we’ll grade the players. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Wednesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.

Andrew Wiggins

35 minutes, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-for-16 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 10-for-12 free throws, 56.4% TS, -5

There are things in Wiggins’ stat line to quibble with — below league-average efficiency, more turnovers than assists, and not as many rebounds as he’s capable of — but that misses the impact he had on the game.

His defense was very strong all night, and was a big reason why Anthony Edwards shot just 7-for-19 from the field with five turnovers. And Wiggins had a keen sense of the moment. He took over in the third quarter as the lead was slipping from Golden State’s clutch, and scored 18 second-half points. With 32.9 seconds remaining and just a one-point lead, he stepped to the line and calmly sank a pair of free throws. When Kevon Looney batted out a rebound following Gary Payton II’s free throw miss with 10 seconds remaining, Wiggins pounced on the game-clinching rebound.

He looked aggressive. He looked twitchy in all the right ways. He was clutch as all get out. And he set the tone for the Warriors with his attacking mentality, earning 12 trips to the charity stripe ... his most since March 20, 2021.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Gui Santos

21 minutes, 5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, +5

Santos got the first start of his NBA career and, given how he’s played these last few games, it certainly doesn’t seem like it will be his last. I’m still not sure if there’s a role for him if the team is healthy, but the team is rarely healthy, and he’s proving a lifesaver right now.

He started strong, and made a three before ESPN even cut to the game. I continue to be impressed by his defense, and his decision-making ... he has 16 assists to nine turnovers, which is an impressive ratio for a player who entered the year with just 192 minutes played ... and no meaningful ones.

He looked overmatched on defense to start the third quarter, when he picked up some poor fouls and was replaced pretty quickly. But he’s playing well enough that it’s not just a token start ... he was back on the court at one point in the closing minutes.

The Warriors just might have found something!

Grade: B

Trayce Jackson-Davis

27 minutes, 4 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 28.6% TS, +2

It feels like I say this every game, but TJD is really blossoming in front of our eyes. He wasn’t a scoring factor in this game, but you’ll excuse him for only scoring four points against the best defensive center of this era. But he was a menace on the glass, grabbing 15 rebounds to Rudy Gobert’s 10 (despite playing fewer minutes), and gobbling up an absurd nine offensive boards. He played very strong defense, registering as many blocks as fouls, and helping hold Gobert to just seven points, while being an intimidating force at the rim for Minnesota’s guards. Most importantly, he was hustling and doing the little things, repeatedly beating the Wolves down the court to send Minny’s defense in disarray.

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds

Dennis Schröder

25 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 6 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 54.5% TS, -4

Schröder still hasn’t found his groove with the Dubs, but we’ve seen lately how intense and clutch of a player he is. He nabbed the first two buckets of the third quarter for the Warriors, which were essential as they tried to keep the Timberwolves at bay.

He did foul out, and it wasn’t the best defensive game for him, though understandable given that he was cycling between defending Edwards, Mike Conley Jr., and a red-hot Donte DiVincenzo.

Grade: B-

Steph Curry

37 minutes, 31 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 10-for-21 shooting, 7-for-12 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 68.1% TS, -1

Well, have yourself a freaking game, Chef. The first quarter was Golden State’s most dominant of the season, and Curry was the main person behind it. He was excellently quarterbacking to start, putting all the pieces in motion and making brilliant passes, and then he started to let it fly from deep. He was masterfully in control as the Dubs jumped out to a 13-0 lead, and he shot a perfect 4-for-4 in the frame.

You could sense how important it was for the Warriors to stop the bleeding, because Steve Kerr let Curry stay in much longer than he usually does in the first quarter. When Curry finally took a seat, he had more points (12) than the Wolves (10), and the Warriors led 29-20.

He also was oh-so clutch. After Minnesota finally tied it, Curry seemed to run a mile on one play alone to get open for a relocation three to re-take the lead with 47 seconds remaining. He sank a pair of free throws inside the final 10 seconds to push the lead to four and clinch the victory.

Pure brilliance.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists.

Kevon Looney

22 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-2 shooting, 100.0% TS, -3

Where would the Warriors be without Looney? He just does all the little things.

There was plenty to love about his game on Wednesday (six assists!!!), but none more than the play that transpired with about 10 seconds remaining, when the Dubs led by two points and Payton missed a free throw. Looney out-battled Gobert — despite not having inside position — and batted the ball out to Wiggins, who burned some clock before getting the ball to Curry, who iced the game.

Clutch.

Grade: A

Gary Payton II

19 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 3-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 90.2% TS, -4

Well, Kerr wasted no time using Payton, which is understandable given the offensive firepower of Minnesota’s backcourt, and Golden State’s injuries. Still, despite it being his first game back after a 10-game absence, Payton played his fourth-highest minutes total of the season.

He was mostly excellent. He fit right back in on both ends of the court, with disruptive defense and a knack for cutting to the rim at the right time. He did have a disastrous turnover in the final seconds — the type of turnover that we would have spent a whole week thinking about had the Warriors lost — and he only went 1-for-2 from the free throw line in a critical situation. But that’s picking nits. Strong game.

Grade: B+

Moses Moody

25 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 fouls, 4-for-6 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 91.7% TS, +7

I’ve talked a lot about players being clutch today and, well ... Moody deserves that label in bold, italics, capitals, and with exclamation marks. CLUTCH!!!

The Timberwolves came running to steal the moment in the second quarter, cutting a 24-point lead down to 10 points and getting the arena rocking, and then Moody answered with back-to-back threes. He added another clutch three halfway through the fourth quarter, which again shoved away the Wolves as they were building all the momentum.

And around that, fantastic defense ... when he wasn’t fouling people. That knocks him down a notch.

Grade: A-

Buddy Hield

29 minutes, 18 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-for-11 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 73.1% TS, +8

Clutch, efficient offense. Awesome defense. What more could you ask for?

I continue to be surprised, confused, and excited about the defense Hield has been playing. And this time the offense caught up, as he was great all night long, which featured eight fourth-quarter points ... seemingly each more important than the last.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.

Wednesday’s DNPs: Pat Spencer, Lindy Waters III
Wednesday’s inactives: Kyle Anderson, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post