The Golden State Warriors gave themselves plenty of chances to make life difficult, but they still found a way to close out the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-114. Stephen Curry drove the night with 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Golden State’s edge on the glass and at the foul line carried the rest of the load.
Curry was the headliner from start to finish. He shot 11-27 from the field, hit six 3-pointers and didn’t waste a trip to the stripe, going 16-for-16 on free throws.
Even with the shot volume, he kept the offense moving and finished with more than a third of the Warriors’ total points. He did it while turning the ball over only twice in 32 minutes.
Golden State also needed a second scorer to keep Minnesota from loading up on Curry, and Yaxel Lendeborg answered that call. He finished with 26 points and nine rebounds on 11-20 shooting, adding two 3-pointers, a steal and a block in 35 minutes. With Draymond Green scoring just three points, Georges Niang putting up seven and Brandin Podziemski finishing with eight, Lendeborg’s production gave the Warriors another dependable scoring lane.
That top-end scoring mattered because Minnesota had its own offensive punch. The Timberwolves put four players at 17 points or better, including 20 from Jonathan Kuminga and 19 from Jaden McDaniels. Still, Curry and Lendeborg combined for 70 points, and that kind of two-man output was enough to withstand the push.
The Warriors also won a bruising battle on the boards. They finished with 53 rebounds to Minnesota’s 42, including a 13-7 edge on offensive rebounds.
That helped Golden State make up for shooting just 11-for-35 from three. Green and Lendeborg each grabbed nine rebounds, Curry added eight, and Al Horford chipped in five in 18 minutes.
Charles Bassey also added two rebounds in limited action.
Golden State used those extra chances to control the interior, outscoring Minnesota 54-46 in the paint and blocking five shots to the Timberwolves’ two. Minnesota actually had more assists, 31-25, and hit four more threes, but the Warriors did enough on the physical end to keep the game tilted their way.
Free throws ended up being the final separator. Golden State made 30 of 37 at the line, while Minnesota went 19-for-27.
That 11-point edge from the stripe loomed large in a game decided by five. Curry supplied 16 of those makes by himself, Podziemski added four and Brandon Williams hit three.
The foul count told the same story. Minnesota was whistled for 29 fouls, compared with 24 for Golden State, and that steady stream of trips to the line gave the Warriors breathing room when the Timberwolves started to close the gap.
Golden State didn’t protect the ball cleanly, finishing with 17 turnovers, and Minnesota had the better numbers in assists, steals and 3-pointers. But the Warriors made enough of the plays that mattered most: Curry kept scoring, Lendeborg backed him up, the rebounds piled up, and the free throws sealed it.
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 🡒]