Karl-Anthony Towns (32) of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball during the game against the Golden State Warriors. - Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Minnesota Timberwolves entered Tuesday night’s In-Season Tournament game against the Golden State Warriors riding high on a six-game win streak. And the Warriors had dropped three in a row, including a loss to Minnesota on Sunday night. Adding to the Warriors’ woes was the absence of Steph Curry for Tuesday night’s game. Curry was sitting out after injuring his knee in Sunday night’s 116-110 loss to the Timberwolves.
The Brawl that Started it All
And right after most people had just gotten to their seats, the fireworks started. Less than two minutes into the game, the Wolves Jaden McDaniels and the Warriors Klay Thompson started jostling coming back up court after a missed three pointer by Anthony Edwards.
The Wolves Rudy Gobert jumped into to try to break up the fight. Then out of nowhere, Golden State’s Draymond Green came up behind Gobert and put him in a horse collar. When all of the smoke had cleared, McDaniels, Thompson, and Green had all been ejected from the game. In all likelihood, Green will be facing further reprimands including a possible 10-game suspension. His notorious reputation may come back to haunt him on this one.
So, Steve Kerr and the Warriors were faced with this situation. They must play almost an entire game against the hottest team in the league with their three best players out of the lineup. Adding to their frustration, their fourth leading scorer, Andrew Wiggins was mired in a season-long slump. In fact, Wiggins would finish this game scoring only nine points on 4-15 shooting.
Warriors Hang Tough
With all that in mind, many people thought that the Timberwolves would waltz to a cakewalk win. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Brandin Podziemski and the rest of the Warriors’ players. For instead of rolling over and allowing the Timberwolves to route them, the Warriors pressed on and actually led for a majority of the game.
It was in fact, the Timberwolves that looked disjointed and off their game. They were outrebounded by the hustling Warriors 46-42 and Edwards, shot just 7-16 from the field. Golden State had the Wolves on their heels the entire game. They led for three quarters, and it appeared that the Timberwolves winning streak would end at six games.
Podziemski Comes up Big
Podziemski was the catalyst all night for the Warriors. He finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. He seemed to be everywhere on the court, but he saved his most dramatic play for the waning minutes of the third quarter.
With the clock winding down in the quarter, Podziemski intercepted a pass from Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT), stepped back behind the three-point line, and right before the buzzer, hit a three-point bank shot to put the Warriors up 83-76 after three.
Kat was Outstanding for the Timberwolves
KAT was the one constant for the Timberwolves all night. He would score nine straight points for Wolves in the second quarter to keep them in the game. And he would hit the three-point shot with 1:06 left in the game that would keep the Timberwolves in the lead for good. He finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists. He also was 5-12 from behind the three-point stripe.
Edwards would add 20 points after a shaky start. Mike Conley would score 13 points and add eight assists as he portrayed the in-control floor leader. And Goebert would lead the Wolves with 13 rebounds.
For Golden State, Dario Saric would score 21 and Chris Paul tallied 15 points, many in clutch situations in second half. Kevon Looney would pace the Warriors with 12 rebounds.
Timberwolves Travel to Phoenix
No rest for the Timberwolves as they travel to Phoenix to play the Suns tonight. The Suns are in the midst of a four-game home losing streak so they will be highly motivated to end that streak tonight. Devin Booker has missed the last five games with a right calf strain, but he is listed as probable for tonight’s matchup. Bradley Beal (back) and Kevin Durant will also be available for the Suns tonight. This will mark the first time this season that the three players will be on the court together.
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