ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Two nights after beating Portland at home, Golden State Warriors (69-8) played host to the Minnesota Timberwolves (25-52) in Oakland.
The Warriors welcomed back Andrew Bogut (ribs) and Andre Iguodala (left ankle) to action. Kevon Looney (hip) remained out.
The Timberwolves had Nemanja Bjelica (foot) back after being out with an injury, but Kevin Garnett (right knee) and Nikola Pekovic (right ankle) were out.
1st Quarter – Harry B On Point
Bogut got an early block on Andrew Wiggins to start the game…
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…while Harrison Barnes came out locked in, getting a three from the top on a feed from Klay Thompson and an entry pass from Bogut and slamming home a two-handed dunk:
Barnes with the cut and finish! @NBAonTNT #NBARapidReplay #MINatGSW https://t.co/B5FkKHt0Fq
— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2016
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Then after Karl Anthony-Towns scored twice, the first on a three-pointer, Draymond Green went down the left side of the lane and got an “and-one” versus Deng and finally made a free throw to boot.
Barnes followed that up with two straight triples, both delivered by Green, and with 7:20 remaining, Minnesota head coach Sam Mitchell called timeout:
Harrison Barnes has 11 pts in the first 5 minutes! ??? @NBAonTNT #NBARapidReplay #MINatGSW https://t.co/9d9fHTszPA
— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2016
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The Warriors turned on the turbo boost out of the timeout, Bogut getting an alley-oop from Curry…
Steph –> Bogut alley-oop pic.twitter.com/Zx5Vy5gB7v
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 6, 2016
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…then a putback of a Draymond missed layup.
Klay added a catch-and-shoot three from the right elbow, assisted by Curry, then Iguodala, who had missed the last 15 of 17 games with either his hamstring or ankle injured, got a standing ovation after he subbed in.
Ricky Rubio made a bad jump pass that Curry stole and, on the fast break, made a nice one-handed lead bounce pass to Green for the two-handed jam:
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After some empty possessions that included airballs by Wiggins and Steph, plus a bad pass by Draymond, Zach LaVine finally powered past Curry for a layup, but the Golden State lead was 25-12 with 3:11 to play by then.
Green made another bad pass, this time intercepted by Wiggins, but Wiggins’ lob at the other end was snuffed out by Draymond, and Leandro Barbosa scored on the resultant break, fed by Curry.
The half ended with another bad pass turnover leading to a layup, this time by Barbosa and converted by Timberwolves backup point guard Tyus Jones, and both teams traded free throws as the quarter fizzled out with the Warriors up, 28-19. Barnes led all scorers with 11 points and, although he was scoreless, Steph dished out 6 assists.
2nd Quarter – Steph Stays Cold, But Barnes Stays Hot
Barnes stayed hot as he drilled a jumper from the right side to open the quarter, but Towns answered, then the Warriors’ bench unit missed four out of five shots, the one make an “and-one” turnaround by Shaun Livingston.
After a Thompson miss and two straight traveling violations by Marreese Speights, to go along with a break out dunk by Shabazz Muhammad and another transition layup by Jones, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr called timeout as as the Wolves fought back to a 33-25 with 8:39 to play.
Out of the timeout, Muhammad continued his strong play with a putback then a layup, then after misses by Brandon Rush and Speights, Jones got fouled by Barnes on an attack in the lane and Kerr put Curry back in the game as the Wolves caught up to 33-30 with 7:31 to go.
But Klay came back with a three and a fadeaway, and after Bogut disrupted a Jones lefty drive, Steph missed another one from up top (0-for-4) and Barnes was there with the one-handed putback slam!
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Mitchell took another timeout as the Warriors crept back up, 40-32, but Golden State wasn’t done.
LIvingston got an alley-oop fed by Curry, then a whirling finger roll on the right baseline, thanks to a pretty behind-the-back setup by Steph, his ninth assist:
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Green added a layup on the right side and Barnes made a catch-and-shoot triple from the left corner, assisted by Iguodala, as the T’wolves made three straight turnovers.
A Wiggins dunk off a backdoor, fed by Towns, finally broke the Minnesota drought at 49-38 approaching three minutes left.
The quarter closed out with Green making a nice swat at the waist of another Muhammad attack…
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…a steal by Draymond leading to a lay-in by Klay after Steph missed another runner (0-for-7 field), and a defensive rebound by Green, leading the break, and ending with a Curry-to-Iguodala laser under the hoop for another easy two.
Curry got fouled on a runner by Rubio and made both throws…
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…while Jones answered with an acrobatic reverse layup.
Steph missed his eighth shot at buzzer, stepping back on Towns from the deep left wing, as the ball hit the front rim.
Barnes led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 4-for-5 downtown, while Thompson added 12 points. Curry had just 2 points, going 0-for-8 from the floor, but dished out 10 assists. Muhammad led the Wolves with 13 points and Towns added 10 points, 6 rebounds.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @NBA)
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