The Warriors dug themselves an early hole and were never able to fully recover in Thursday’s 99-84 loss in Minnesota.
After trailing by as many as 22 points midway through the third quarter, the Warriors got within single digits in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when Omari Spellman threw down one of the hardest dunks of the Dubs’ season to start a three-point play.
But ultimately, the Warriors couldn’t generate enough offense to overcome the early struggles. Glenn Robinson III led the Warriors with 16 points, and Eric Paschall (13 points) and Spellman (10 points) each turned in double-digit scoring efforts off the bench in the defeat.
The Warriors actually played the Timberwolves even over the second, third and fourth quarters, but the 15-point difference in the first quarter wound up being the difference in the game. That, and an inability to knock down a shot from the perimeter, as the Dubs were just 3-for-20 on 3-pointers – they shot shot 43 percent overall from the floor.
TEAM LEADERS
| GSW
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Robinson III – 16 | Paschall / Chriss – 7 | Green – 6 |
| Paschall – 13 | Robinson III – 6 | Chriss – 5 |
| Lee / Spellman – 10 | Spellman – 5 | Lee / Bowman – 2 |
| MIN
|
||
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Covington / Napier – 20 | Covington – 10 | Napier – 7 |
| Reid – 13 | Martin – 8 | McLaughlin – 4 |
| Martin – 12 | Reid – 6 | Okogie – 3 |
Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell, who had scored 82 points over two games against Minnesota earlier this season, sat out his second straight game with a shoulder contusion, and Willie Cauley-Stein also sat out due to illness, putting the Warriors down two starters.
The Timberwolves were also shorthanded, playing without Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, but they overcame that by making six of their first 11 3-pointers and playing from ahead for nearly the entire game.
After winning their fourth consecutive game last Friday, the Dubs have since lost three straight, and they’ll look to break that skid on Saturday when they return home to take on the Pistons.
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More Notables …
- The Warriors lost both games of their road trip and have a road record of 3-16 this season.
- Tonight marked the Warriors third and final game vs. the Timberwolves who won the season series 2-1… This is the first time Minnesota has won the season series over Golden State since the 2004-05 season (2-1).
- Golden State falls to 0-10 this season when scoring 99-or-fewer points in a game.
- The Warriors highest individual scoring total was 16 by Glenn Robinson lll, marking just the fourth time this season the team has failed to have at least one player score 20-plus points.
- Golden State shot a season-low 15 percent from the three-point line (previous: 15.2 percent on 10/27 at OKC)
- Alen Smailagic scored a career-high-tying seven points (previous time: 12/31 vs. SAS)… He made five-of-six shots from the free throw line, both career-high marks.
- Eric Paschall scored 10-or-more points for the 22nd time this season, posting a reserve-high 13 points.
- Marquese Chriss made his third start of the season (second consecutive).
- Ky Bowman tallied a career-high four steals.
