Warriors Vs. Timberwolves 1/27/2021

The Timberwolves went into this game coming off of a rough loss to the Warriors. The Warriors went into this game coming off of a nice win against the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves got a second chance against the Warriors in this game. With D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns still out the Timberwolves went into this rematch with 2 all stars out of their lineup. The Warriors having possession of a Timberwolves 2021 first round pick (top 3 protected) makes it so that every loss the Timberwolves get makes it more likely that the Warriors get the number 4 overall pick. This gives the Warriors a little more motivation to win every game against the Timberwolves. A 30 point game out of Malik Beasley was unlikely to happen again making a Timberwolves win even more unlikely. For the Timberwolves to win this game they likely needed to have great games from multiple players. They’d also need to play amazing defense. For the Warriors to win this game they likely needed to make sure that they didn’t let the Timberwolves take an early lead and play good defense. They also hoped to see Wiggins stay on his trend of good scoring and defense. This game happened on January 27th which was a day after the anniversary of Kobe and Gianna Bryant and everyone else on that helicopter’s passing. To honor Kobe and Gianna Stephen Curry wore some custom shoes with Kobe, Gianna, himself, and his 2 daughters on them. To the game!

Kevon Looney won the tip for the Warriors to give them the ball to start the game. For the first points of the game Naz Reid made a layup. At 9:29 Kent Bazemore made a 3 to give the Warriors their first points and a 1 point lead. At 6:03 Ryan Saunders called a timeout after Kent Bazemore subbed in for Oubre Jr. and scored 7 of the Warriors first 9 points. With 24.5 seconds to go Damion Lee got a 4 point play to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. To end the quarter Anthony Edwards made a 3 to make the score 23-21 going into the second quarter. At the end of the first quarter the number 1 and number 2 overall picks were both leading their teams in scoring each with 8 points. The Warriors had a few issues in fouling, rebounding, and turnovers. The Warriors had 5 more fouls, 4 more turnovers, and 6 less rebounds than the Timberwolves. Another issue was that Stephen Curry had 0 points after the quarter. Neither team shot very well in the first quarter with 34.8% from the field and 40% from 3 for the Warriors and 26.1% from the field and 33.3% from 3 for the Timberwolves.

To start the quarter Anthony Edwards made a layup to tie the game. At 10:50 Jaden McDaniels made a 3 to give the Timberwolves a 3 point lead. At 10:07 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3 to take back the lead. Anthony Edwards then took back the lead with a 3. At 8:51 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3 to tie the game. The next play Jake Layman made a 3 to retake a lead. At 5:54 Ed Davis got a flagrant 2 which got him ejected, gave the Kelly Oubre Jr. 2 free throws, and the Warriors got the ball back. At 5:38 Andrew Wiggins made a layup to give the Warriors a 1 point lead. At 2:59 Kelly Oubre Jr. got an amazing block from behind on a fast break that led into a timeout. With 8.7 seconds to go in the half Stephen Curry made a layup for his first points of the game. The Warriors went on a 23-13 run to end the quarter. At the end of the first half the Warriors were leading 58-51. In the second quarter Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 16 points which was leading the Warriors at this point. To this point Anthony Edwards was leading the Timberwolves in scoring with 15. The Warriors got rid of all of their problems from the first quarter except for Stephen Curry not scoring. Though Curry did score 2 points in the second quarter that isn’t enough for me to say that that issue is now out the window. The shooting splits were 47.6% from the field and 42.1% from deep and 39.5% from the field and 50% from 3. To the third!

To start the 3rd quarter Kelly Oubre Jr. fouled Josh Okogie who made 1 of 2 free throws. At 11:05 Andrew Wiggins made a jumper to give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At 9:50 Kevon Looney got a dunk to give the Warriors their first double digit lead of the game. At 7:25 Draymond Green got a dunk to give the Warriors their biggest lead of the game to that point at 11. A couple plays later Andrew Wiggins slammed in a dunk to give the Warriors a 13 point lead. At 5:36 Damion Lee made a 3 to give the Warriors a 14 point lead. A couple plays later Stephen Curry made a deep 3 to give the Warriors a 79-64 lead. At 3:28 Draymond Green made a layup to give the Warriors a 17 point lead. At 2:39 James Wiseman hammered in a dunk to give the Warriors their first 20 point lead. A couple plays later Stephen Curry made a 3 giving the Warriors a 23 point lead. The Timberwolves were then forced to call a timeout after a Warriors 8-0 run. At 1:44 James Wiseman made a 3 to give the Warriors a 92-67 lead. With 45 seconds to go in the quarter Anthony Edwards made a 3 to lower the deficit to 17. Curry followed that up with a 3 of his own to raise the lead to 20. At the end of the third quarter the score was 95-75. The Warriors went on a nice run in the 3rd quarter with the help of Curry and Wiseman. The leading scorers for each team were still the rookies. Edwards had 23 and Wiseman had 18 points. Curry was able to score 12 in the 3rd. The Warriors shot 52.3% from the field and 50% from 3. The Timberwolves shot 37.5% from 2 and 44.4% from 3.

To start the 4th quarter Damion Lee made a 3 making the score 98-75. Jordan McLaughlin followed that up with a reverse layup for the Timberwolves first points of the quarter. At 7:19 Naz Reid blocked Kelly Oubre Jr. and hurt his wrist in the process. That was Kelly Oubre Jr.’s first miss of the game. At 6:20 Jaylen Nowell made a 3 to cut the Warriors lead to 14. At 3:49 Stephen Curry made a jumper to give the Warriors a 16 point lead. To end the game Jordan McLaughlin made a put back layup to make the final score 123-111.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary: The Warriors played especially well in the 2nd and 3rd quarter with a combined 72-54 in those two quarters. Stephen Curry had a bad game with only 16 points. On the bright side James Wiseman got his career high with 25 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had probably his best game with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Kevon Looney also had a great game with 10 rebounds in 11 minutes. The Timberwolves leading scorers were Anthony Edwards and Malik Beasley both with 25. It would’ve been nice if the Warriors had had a few less fouls and turnovers. The Warriors shot well with 52.9% from 2 and 44.1% from the field. The Timberwolves shot about average with 42.5% from the field and 38.9% from deep. The Warriors biggest lead was 25 points and the Timberwolves biggest lead was 5 points. Overall, this was a great game for the Warriors where multiple guys stepped up when Curry had a rough game.