Curry revives sluggish Warriors
His epic third-quarter effort leads Dubs to win
MINNEAPOLIS » The Warriors may have initially felt sluggish on the second night of a back-to-back at the end of a week-long, four-game trip. That was not going to stop Stephen Curry, however, from both having fun and quickly rectifying a rare poor shooting night.
So well before the Warriors finished with a 117-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Curry capped a prolific third quarter by performing a shimmy move. Curry finished with 36 points while shooting 12 of 21 from the field and 8 of
14 from 3, and most of his highlight-reel efforts happened in the third quarter.
The final shot drained through the basket shortly after the ball left Curry’s fingertips. Once it did, Curry danced in front of a courtside fan before sprinting back on defense.
He had 22 third-quarter points while going 7 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from deep, a stark improvement from when he labored in the first half with 11 points while shooting 4 of 12 overall and 3 of 8 from 3. His third-quarter production alone, which was one shy of his seasonhigh for a quarter, was also only three point shy of his total output in Monday’s loss to San Antonio. Then, Curry had 25 points while shooting 9 of 25 overall and 6 of 18 from 3.
The Warriors (47-22) also cemented a 3-1 trip because of Klay Thompson overcoming his own off shooting night against San Antonio.
Thompson finished with 28 points while going 11 of 21 from the field and 4 of 10 from deep, a night after having 14 points on only 5-of18 shooting. After logging singledigit minutes in three of the past
four games,
Warriors reserve forward Jonas Jerebko added a season-high 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including a careerhigh 14 points in the second quarter. And Kevin Durant added 17 points. Overall, the Warriors had 39 assists and only 13 turnovers.
All of which helped the Warriors overcome a few elements. They arrived here at 2:30 a.m. CT after playing in San Antonio on Monday. With DeMarcus Cousins missing his second consecutive game with a sore right ankle, Andrew Bogut struggled in his second game at starting center with two points in 13 minutes.
Most of the Warriors’ success, however, traced back to Curry.
The Timberwolves opened the third quarter cutting the Warriors’ lead to 59-58 with 9:40 left after scoring 11 unanswered points. No matter, Curry closed the third quarter scoring the Warriors’ final 14 points.
That started with Curry making a 25-foot 3, a stepback jumper and a layup. Curry then made three free throws after drawing a foul on a 3. And then he punctuated the run with that corner 3 that prompted him to dance in front of a courtside Timberwolves fan.
• No need for Warriors fans to worry about too much about Cousins.
Yes, Cousins missed his second consecutive game because of a sore right ankle. But Warriors coach Steve Kerr offered some good news about Cousins’ progress.
“He’s doing well,” Kerr said. “I expect him to play whenever the hell our next game is.”
That will take place when the Warriors host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday at Oracle Arena. Forgive Kerr for forgetting the calendar. The Warriors are concluding a four-game trip with a back-to-back in San Antonio (Monday) and Minnesota (Tuesday).
Kerr described the Warriors’ four-game trip as “solid” after collecting marquee wins last week in Houston and Oklahoma City. Though Kerr called it “disappointing” for the Warriors to lose on Monday to the Spurs, he said he “loved how our guys competed.”
• Draymond Green is frustrated. It has nothing to do with an officials’ call, but everything to do with his upcoming itinerary.
The Warriors just concluded a 111-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Then, the Warriors took a flight here where they landed at 2:30 a.m. CT. The Warriors then had to be ready to play the Timberwolves. Yes, they both cities are in the central time zone, but they are located at opposite sides of the country.
“It’s crazy. We get this back-to-back it seems like every year between here and Minnesota or New Orleans and Minnesota,” Green said. “We get it every year.”
The Warriors had sat plenty of their players when they played in San Antonio two seasons ago on the second night of a back-to-back after playing in Minnesota. That also marked the Warriors’ final game as part of a 13-day, eight-game trip. So while Durant nursed an injury, Kerr also rested Green, Curry, Thompson and Andre Iguodala. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sat Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. The NBA did not like that one bit since the game was nationally televised.
Since then, the NBA has adjusted its schedules for the past two seasons so there are fewer extensive trips and back-to-backs. For back-to-backs, the NBA makes sure each city’s airport is close to its respective arena and limits those games to cities in the same time zone. Because of those variables, the Warriors are not as upset with this latest back-to-back.
Some within the Warriors, though, mused on how its latest four-game trip did not exactly help them receive that rest.
They spent a total of four days last week in Houston for an evening practice (Tuesday), a game (Wednesday), an off day (Thursday) and then a late-morning practice (Friday). Afterwards, the Warriors departed for Oklahoma City for Saturday’s game against the Thunder. The Warriors did not practice on Sunday after traveling over night to San Antonio for Monday’s game. Then, the Warriors flew over night to Minneapolis.
Nonetheless, the Warriors do not have plans to complain to the NBA. They have appreciated that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made changes to the league’s previous schedule. They are mindful of all the challenges in scheduling games, including accommodating 30 NBA teams and all of its venues. Many of those venues also host other sporting events and concerts.