MINNEAPOLIS—Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and made three of four free throws in the final 12 seconds in a 114–110 Minnesota Timberwolves victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
Naz Reid had 20 points and tied a season-high with 12 rebounds, while Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who matched their season-best with 21 3-pointers on 40 attempts.
“When we go to the paint where there’s a crowd, make a kickout. It’s just simple basketball stuff we’ve been doing really well,” Coach Chris Finch said.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points for the Warriors, but the Golden State star missed a tying 3-point try with 1:27 to go.
After rebounding a forced, air-balled 3-point attempt by Edwards, Curry took the rebound all the way for a layup that cut the lead to one. But Edwards got fouled and made two free throws before rebounding Klay Thompson’s missed 3-pointer from the wing—a play that assistant coach Micah Nori of the Wolves had correctly warned the players to watch.
Mike Conley added 14 points and seven assists for the Wolves (49–22), who are one game behind the Denver Nuggets (50–21) and a half-game back of the Oklahoma City Thunder (49–21) in the Western Conference race. The Nuggets passed the Thunder, who lost at Milwaukee on Sunday.
The Warriors led by 12 points in the first half. With the most prolific 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA on the other side in Curry, the Wolves put on an outside-shooting display in tribute.
With Curry resting late in the third quarter and well into the fourth at the start of a trip that features five games in eight days, the substitutes carried the Wolves on a plus-12 stretch. Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit three 3-pointers during that run.
“Everybody was talking, communicating,” Edwards said. “It was a great thing to see. I was happy sitting over there. I can rest and get a break.”
This was Golden State’s only visit to Minnesota this season, giving both teams more than four months to cool off from the consecutive games the Wolves won in San Francisco. In the second of those games, Draymond Green of the Warriors was ejected in the opening minutes for putting Gobert in a headlock.
The Warriors (36–34), embarrassed by their lack of effort in a 12-point home loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday, are still trying to find themselves with their 10th-place position in the Western Conference. Their hold on the final play-in spot is precarious, with the surging Houston Rockets (35–35) just one game behind.
“The habits were much improved tonight—the defensive focus, the effort, the energy,” Golden State Coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m confident that if we compete and play like that these last 12 games that we’re going to put ourselves in position.”
The Wolves had eight turnovers in their first 17 possessions over less than eight minutes, and they set a season low with 18 points in the first quarter, but Reid came to their rescue again.
The fan favorite, who delighted the Target Center crowd with 18 points in a decisive win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on his beach-towel giveaway night Friday, made his first five attempts from 3-point range. Reid is averaging 14.6 points in 15 career games against the Warriors, the second-highest of his career against any NBA team.
Up Next
Warriors: Visit Miami on Tuesday.Timberwolves: Host Detroit on Wednesday.
