Stephen Curry turned Wednesday night into another reminder that the Warriors’ margin for error still runs through him. With Golden State beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-114 for its second win of the season, Curry delivered a season-high 44 points and carried the load from start to finish.
The shot-making came in every flavor. Curry went 11-of-27 from the field, hit 6-of-16 from 3-point range and was flawless at the line, finishing 16-of-16 from the charity stripe. For much of the night, Minnesota had no answer as he kept bending the defense and piling up points.
That scoring burst also pushed Curry into a notable place on an all-time list. By reaching 40 points and beyond again, he matched LeBron James for the most 40-point games by any player age 35 or older, giving both stars 15 such games. According to the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast, the rest of the top five includes Michael Jordan with 12, Kevin Durant with nine, James Harden with six and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with four.
Curry is 38 now, and the wear and tear shows up enough that Golden State has been careful with his minutes and rest, including sitting him out on at least one side of back-to-backs. But nights like this are the counterargument to any talk that his production is fading away.
The Warriors got a preview of that against Denver on Monday, when Curry’s presence alone helped open everything up for his teammates in a 24-point performance that came on perfect shooting from the floor and the foul line. Against Minnesota, though, he was the whole show.
Golden State got the benefit of a Timberwolves lineup missing Anthony Edwards, and Curry took full advantage. He kept firing from angles and distances most players wouldn’t even consider, much less convert, and the result was the kind of performance that keeps Warriors fans thinking there’s still a path to one more real run if the roster around him is right.
In Other News...
Mavericks Just Got Linked To A Trade Idea Fans Will Debate
The Warriors search for help in the middle has been a constant subplot, and one speculative path that has surfaced would send Daniel Gafford from Dallas to the Bay in a package built around Moses Moody, Gui Santos and a 2028 first-round pick. It is the kind of idea that immediately invites debate because it speaks to two things Golden State has been chasing for a while: more size up front and a clearer answer at center without emptying the cupboard too aggressively.
From the Mavericks side, the appeal would come down to what Moody can become when healthy and available, since his injury status is part of the conversation, along with the kind of perimeter profile he brings. For the Warriors, the question is whether giving up a young wing, a developmental piece and a future first is worth the chance to solve a glaring roster need, especially with the deal still only living in the speculative stage. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Is Reviving An Uncomfortable Warriors Debate
Jonathan Kumingas first season away from Golden State has done more than change his scenery. It has also sharpened the case for what kind of player he can be when the environment around him is built to highlight his strengths. Since moving on to the Hawks and then the Timberwolves, his offensive production has stayed fairly steady, but the defensive numbers around him have trended upward, and the broader picture has become harder for the Warriors to ignore.
Minnesota has given Kuminga a much different support system, one that includes strong rim protection and elite point-of-attack defense, and that context matters when evaluating his growth. It also feeds back into an old question Golden State never fully settled: whether Kuminga is best used as a wing, a forward, or in some role that asks less of him defensively and lets his athletic tools play up. The answer may not be simple, but his new stops have made the debate look a lot less theoretical. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Suddenly Face A Serious Kristaps Porzingis Contract Question
Kristaps Porzingis has yet to play for the Warriors this season because of a private health issue tied to an upper respiratory viral illness, and the teams latest roster paperwork has made the situation feel a lot more significant. His official designation changed from general illness to not with team, a shift that brings more than just medical concern into the picture and raises a fresh layer of uncertainty around one of the rosters most unusual absences.
For Golden State, the key issue now is less about when Porzingis might return and more about what the team can do if the situation keeps dragging on. The status change opens the door to a possible contract question if he is eventually viewed as unwilling to render services, but actually voiding the deal would be anything but simple. Unless Porzingis were to retire and give back the money, the process would be tangled, and the Warriors may be staring at a problem with no easy resolution. [Read more 🡒]