Late-game offensive issues doom Wolves in close loss to Warriors

Minnesota fell apart in the final five minutes with ill-advised shots not falling.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors forward Lindy Waters III in the second quarter at Chase Center in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 2024. / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was in the midst of a takeover, but then the ball stopped finding him.

Alexander-Walker was the driving forced behind a rally in which the Timberwolves overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, but then the late-game offense fell apart in a 114-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors Sunday in San Francisco.

Buddy Hield's 3-pointer gave the Warriors (14-9) a 102-91 lead midway through the fourth quarter. That capped a 9-0 run from the Warriors that lasted until Alexander-Walker ended the run with a layup. Alexander-Walker would later hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a midrange jumper to cut their deficit to two points, and another deep ball from Anthony Edwards made it a 106-105 Wolves lead with 4 minutes, 47 seconds to go.

But then it all fell apart.

Alexander-Walker only took one shot the rest of the way — a layup that was blocked by Gary Payton II that could have been a foul — and the Wolves (12-11) were held scoreless over the final 4:47. Edwards missed six shots down the stretch, and he also had a critical turnover that came with Minnesota down three points with a minute to go. His pass for Jaden McDaniels was stolen by Payton, and Steph Curry found Hield for a dagger 3-pointer on the other end.

The Wolves struggled to contain the likes of Hield, who finished with 27 points and made seven shots from 3-point range, and Curry, who scored a game-high 30 points and also contributed eight assists. Jonathan Kuminga added 20 points.

Edwards was having a fantastic game before taking ill-advised shots down the stretch. Before the six misses in the final five minutes, Edwards had only missed three shots all night. He finished with 27 points, six assists and five boards.

Alexander-Walker scored 19 off the bench.

Minnesota led by as many as 12 points and held nine-point leads after the first quarter and at the halftime break. But the Warriors got themselves back in the game by beating the Wolves in transition. They scored 19 fast-break points to the Wolves' nine. The transition struggles were exemplified by a third-quarter inbounds play, where Payton inbounded the ball up to a wide-open Hield at the 3-point line, and he drilled the shot from deep to cut the Warriors' deficit to three points.

Wolves coach Chris Finch called a timeout after that, but Hield hit another 3 after the brief break, tying the game at 69-69.

The Warriors made their first 10 shots of the third quarter overall.

It was clear the Wolves were no longer playing weary opponents. In their last three victories, Minnesota faced teams on the second half of back to backs. The Warriors were clearly fresh — and ready to run — Sunday night.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Wolves, who will have a bit of an extended break before they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Target Center in Minneapolis.