Golden State Warriors Continue to Slump in 129-114 loss Against Minnesota Timberwolves

It's no secret Golden State is slumping as the Minnesota Timberwolves had the Warriors their sixth loss in eight games

Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors are officially slumping.

Falling 129-114 in a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night, Golden State has now lost six of its last eight games. With only a half-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors will have to find their footing fast to maintain position in the Western Conference standings.

“They weren’t connected tonight,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the game regarding his team. “We’re really short-handed and we just have to keep going… We just have to weather this storm.”

To say the Warriors were short-handed Tuesday night was an understatement. In addition to being without Draymond Green (back), Klay Thomson (illness) Nemanja Bjelica (thigh) and Andre Iguodala (back), the Warriors found themselves without rookie Moses Moodey, who suffered an eye contusion early in the first half.

With only nine players to rotate, Golden State was sheerly out-hustled and out-played by a Minnesota team on the back-half of a back-to-back.

In addition, the Timberwolves outshot the Warriors 16-13 from beyond the three-point line while taking five less threes.

Allowing a game-high 39 points, however, the Warriors found extreme difficulty in guarding Timberwolves big-man Karl-Anthony Towns. Shooting 14-for-22 from the floor, Towns dominated the paint, getting to the free throw line 11 times.

“He’s a great player,” Kerr said. “We made some mistakes in the first half and he took advantage of those mistakes.”

Overall, the Warriors voiced their concern from a defensive standpoint beyond guarding Towns. Over the course of the last month-and-a-half when starting forward Draymond Green has been out, the Warriors have stumbled on defense.

From excessive fouling to allowing teams to have their way on the interior and at the three-point line, Golden State has not been the same defensive team they were in the first half of the season when they were ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency.

“I think really it's just consistency and focus,” Warriors point guard Stephen Curry said. “t’s nights like tonight where you just don't play a good brand of basketball defensively… you’re not going to win a lot of games that way.”

The good news for the Warriors, however, is that they will be receiving reinforcements soon. According to Kerr, Thompson will join the team in Dallas Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s matchup against the Mavericks.

Although Thompson’s status has not been revealed, it is likely that he will play at some point during the remaining three games of Golden State’s road trip.

For now, the Warriors will cling onto a half-game lead over Memphis, who sits as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. In order to maintain the No. 2 seed, however, the Warriors will have to find synch down on both ends of the floor.

“I have no doubt that we will get re-connected because we’ve got great people on our team and we have a great culture,” Kerr said. “We’ve established something that has been a foundation. Steph sets an amazing tone and this is the exception rather than the rule.”