Wolves need all 48 minutes for ugly win over Warriors
It took less than two minutes for the game to spiral out of control and it Minnesota didn't regain control until Mike Conley hit a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves left San Francisco with a two game sweep of the Golden State Warriors, winning 104-101 Tuesday night.
Just 1 minute, 43 seconds into the game – with the score tied 0-0 – Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into a scuffle and Draymond Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock, resulting in ejections for Thompson, Green and McDaniels on a night where the Warriors were already without Steph Curry due to knee soreness.
"Shoutout to the Minnesota Wild, it was like a hockey game to start the game," Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 33 points, said on Bally Sports North.
Things are getting HEATED and out of control early 👀 pic.twitter.com/q9tNRPUGIQ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 15, 2023
Golden State's gang of backups came out of the chaos with fire and built a 30-19 lead late in the first quarter, but Anthony Edwards' 3 made it 30-22 to end the quarter and then Towns erupted with nine straight points to start the second quarter, highlighted by a pair of triples and an and-1 runner.
Final stats:
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 33 points, 11 rebounds, 5-of-12 from 3
- Anthony Edwards: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
- Rudy Gobert: 9 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Mike Conley: 13 points, 8 assists, 4-of-6 shooting
- Shake Milton: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists in 15 minutes
Minnesota took a 43-42 lead with 6:43 left in the second quarter only to let the Warriors go on a 17-11 run to end the quarter and lead 59-54 at the half. The Wolves, riding a six-game win streak including wins over the juggernaut Nuggets and Celtics, couldn't buy a bucket.
The struggles continued in the third quarter as Golden State extended the lead to 83-76, highlighted by Brandin Podziemski's turnaround 3 off the glass at the buzzer.
BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI 😱 pic.twitter.com/RKHbXd1w4s
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 15, 2023
Minnesota came out stronger in the third quarter. Rudy Gobert blocked a pair of Andrew Wiggins shots at the rim and later Towns hit back-to-back 3s to give the Timberwolves an 86-85 lead with 7:32 left.
KAT ON A HEATER! #RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/1yRWZqt9Rm
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) November 15, 2023
The fourth quarter was basketball boxing match, with the undermanned Warriors going toe-to-toe with the Timberwolves. Dario Saric hit a straightaway 3 to put Golden State up 98-96 with 2:05 to go and then Towns answered with his fifth 3-pointer of the night for a 99-98 lead with 1:07 to play.
After a Minnesota miss, Gobert blocked a corner 3 attempt by Saric and then Edwards dribbled around the defense and into the lane before kicking it out to Conley for a 3 to put the Wolves up 102-98 with 8.6 seconds remaining.
It was the dagger for Minnesota's seventh straight win as they improve to 8-2 overall, tied with Boston and Philadelphia for the second best record in the NBA, just one win behind the 9-2 Nuggets.
The win Tuesday night was also an In-Season Tournament game, meaning Minnesota is 2-0 in Group Play. They have three more games to play in the group stage for eight teams advance to the bracket rounds in December.
Up next: Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns, Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. CT.
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Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.