On Sunday, the Warriors faced a Minnesota Timberwolves team they are neck-and-neck with in the playoff standings. In typical, modern NBA fashion, it was bereft of stars, and was a mess of a game for most of the night’s proceedings.
But despite some woeful shooting from the Warriors and a career night from Naz Reid, Golden State (31-30) woke up late to come up with a clutch, late 109-104 win that pushes them back over .500.
DiVincenzo and a late Klay wake-up call
This was a mess of a game. Both teams went cold at the end of the third quarter during a stretch that can only be described as torturous. It was a three-minute period in which neither team scored, and a five-minute stretch with just bucket.
Steals, turnovers, bricks. That was the m.o. on both sides. It was nauseating.
But at the end of the quarter, Nickeil Alexander-Walker exposed a zone defense from the Warriors to turn a four-point Timberwolves lead into a nine-point lead.
An Austin Rivers three opened the fourth quarter to make that a 12-point deficit for Golden State. Another three, in the midst of 10-minute stretch that netted eight Warriors points, brought it back to double digits.
It threatened to get out of hand. The Warriors couldn’t hit anything.
But a Donte DiVincenzo three after a prompt timeout snapped that skid. It began a 12-2 Warriors run (just before a 9-0 run) that tied the game at 96 all. While that might not seem like much, it was massive in a game that had come to a screeching halt.
DiVincenzo was the man who won the Warriors this game. He was omnipresent in every facet, and with Jordan Poole — who was nursing an early ankle injury — a non-factor in the second half, he was massive.
His three in the fourth got his team out of their longstanding rut. Of his 21 points, 10 came in the fourth quarter. His effort, tallying 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, was what drove the Warriors. He pushed the pace and helped create space, especially for the likes of Klay Thompson.
Thompson was pretty brutal in the first half, and that carried into the third.
But in the fourth? Nails. He finished with 32 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, hitting three massive shots in the fourth quarter.
Their combined effort secured the Warriors an important win.
Horrific three-point shooting, chaos, and other general nonsense
There was some serious tomfoolery in this game.
Golden State’s three-point shooting was horrific until it mattered most. They finished 15-of-42, for a reasonable 35.7 from deep. That mark was only respectable due to a clutch 6-for-8 stretch from deep to open the fourth.
But the Warriors kept it close because they maintained defensive pressure and forced the Timberwolves into a consistent rash of turnovers. Both teams turned the ball over too much, with 18 from Golden State and 16 from Minnesota.
Golden State’s last two turnovers were extremely stupid and nearly cost them the game.
The first was an unforced error with 24 seconds left from Anthony Lamb that could have put the game out of reach. With a five-point lead, Lamb gave the ball way to Anthony Edwards, who found a cutting Kyle Anderson for a free layup.
Five points was suddenly three. Then Klay Thompson got stripped from behind by Mike Conley, only to be bailed out by a Jordan McLaughlin missed three, rebounded by Lamb.
Another almost followed. Ty Jerome couldn’t inbound the ball safely to DiVincenzo, resulting in a jump ball. The tip made it’s way safely to Thompson, and the resulting inbounds play worked out, leading Jordan Poole to the line.
Poole, unlike the visitors, made both shots.
For reasons unknown, Minnesota just couldn’t hit free throws. They’re a bottom 10 free throw shooting a team at 77.2 percent on the season, but they were as inept from the stripe as the Warriors were from behind the 3-point line, going a woeful 11-of-21 from the line.
Naz Reid goes wild (mostly early), Anthony Edwards goes mild
Golden State had Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins on their bench. The Timberwolves had Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert watching from their sideline.
But there was one star performance… from Naz Reid. Thompson made his way onto that list too, and his night was more substantial. But that’s a little less surprising.
Reid came into Sunday averaging 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
On this Reid, he set two career highs, dropping 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. Those points and steal numbers were both the best of his career.
What’s wild about that performance is the Warriors probably went into the half feeling pretty good. Most of Reid’s points came in the first quarter, and he cooled off in the second quarter, in part, due to foul trouble.
They snagged a halftime lead, then went just about silent for a quarter.
That would probably have resulted in a loss if the Timberwolves got anything from their lone remaining star, Anthony Edwards.
But Edwards had nothing to offer as a shooter. He finished with 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists. That’s nothing to sneer at. But Minnesota needing scoring late, and he didn’t have it, finishing 5-of-19 from the floor.
The late showing from Thompson and DiVincenzo, while Minnesota couldn’t find a consistent scorer, was the defining difference in the game.