What we learned as Steph scores 23 in blowout loss to Timberwolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry scored 23 points in his return to Golden State’s lineup but the Warriors failed to find a reliable second scoring option and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-90 on Friday night at Chase Center.
Curry, who missed Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets because of lingering bilateral knee soreness, shot 6 of 17 (3 of 9 behind the arc), made all eight free throws he took and had four assists in 32 minutes.
Jonathan Kuminga had 13 points and two rebounds one night after pasting the Rockets for a career-high 33 points.
Andrew Wiggins scored 11 points before leaving the game with ankle soreness. Draymond Green, who was held out of the previous two games, was eased back in and added 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists while coming off the bench for the first time this season.
Moses Moody also left the game with a left knee injury and did not return.
Golden State (13-9) has lost five straight and six of the last seven games against Minnesota (12-10).
The Warriors started well, struggled mightily in the second quarter then seemed ready to make a big run in the third quarter until an overturned foul call changed the momentum. After Gary Payton II appeared to score and get fouled – a potential three-point play that would have trimmed the deficit to 75-69 – officials reviewed the play and changed the call to an offensive foul on Payton.
The Warriors made another surge in the fourth quarter, pulling within 80-77 on Curry’s 3-pointer with 10:38 remaining before the Wolves pulled away for good.
The teams play each other again at Chase Center on Sunday.
Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game:
Draymond does it off the bench
Playing in a reserve role for the first time since returning from an NBA suspension last season, Green didn’t miss a beat and whipped up his usual batch of basketball gumbo.
In the first quarter alone, the four-time All-Star racked up eight points, four rebounds and an assist in six and a half minutes.
It wasn’t all flowers and balloons, though. After absorbing a hard hit and crashing to the court, Green got up and yelled at an official believing a foul should have been called. Instead, refs hit Green with a technical foul – Green’s seventh this season.
Terrible twos
The Warriors came out strong, scoring 31 points in the first quarter but then hit a wall in the second period when they were held to a mere 15 points.
Golden State’s offense had no rhythm or flow, which enabled Minnesota to pull away and build a double-digit lead. The Warriors shot terribly (5 of 19 overall, 1 of 9 on 3-pointers), had four turnovers, put up just four points in the first 9 minutes of the period and fell behind by 19.
It was easily one of the Warriors’ worst quarters of the season and would have been worse had they not put together a small run in the final few minutes.
Buddy’s buckets not falling
Buddy Hield was a scoring machine early in the season when he averaged 16.9 points and shot 49.1 percent from the floor through the Warriors’ first 13 games.
Since then, Hield has been shooting a lot of blanks.
In his previous eight games, Hield’s shooting had dipped to 34.2 percent. He was just 1 of 8 from the floor against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, then connected on 2 of 4 shots against the Wolves.
Coach Steve Kerr didn’t seem too concerned, saying before the game that it was just the normal ebbs and flows of a season.
Despite all that, Hield is still closing in on a milestone moment. The sharp-shooter needs eight more 3s to become the 17th player in NBA history to have 2,000 for his career.
