Warriors’ injury woes get even worse in loss to Timberwolves

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors were already beaten-up heading into their matchup with the Timberwolves, and by the close of the first quarter, they had lost Draymond Green and Al Horford, too.

Slowing down Anthony Edwards turned from a difficult task to an impossible one for the undersized and undermanned Warriors in a 127-117 loss that got out of hand early.

Edwards feasted for 42 points, including a dozen at the foul line. Rudy Gobert sank eight of 10 free-throw attempts to finish with 18 as Golden State struggled to handle Minnesota’s size, speed and physicality, falling behind by as many as 25 points early in the second half.

The uncompetitive loss — and the worsening injury issues — spoiled what could have been a positive turn on the health front as Kristaps Porzingis suited up for the third time in four games. Making his first start, the 7-foot-3 center trailed only Brandin Podziemski (25) with 20 points and offered some of their only resistance against the Timberwolves’ onslaught in the paint.

The spot in the starting five was only available after Green was ruled out about an hour before tipoff. Horford and Seth Curry also left the game in the first half and didn’t return. 

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What it means

One team was going to snap out of a skid, and it turned out to be the Timberwolves. Minnesota cruised to its first win in four games, while the Warriors’ losing streak reached a season-long four games.

Turning point

When Horford was ruled out for the remainder of the game late in the first quarter.

The veteran 6-foot-8 big man started alongside Porzingis, and it looked at first as if the Warriors would be able to counter the size of Timberwolves’ four starters at 6-foot-9 or taller.

That went out the window as soon as Horford strained his right calf during his first stint on the court. Porzingis and Quinten Post were left overmatched as the only Warriors above 6-foot-7.

Minnesota bullied its way to a 52-40 edge in the paint, 23 points on 26 attempts from the foul line and 55 rebounds to the Warriors’ 45.

MVP: Anthony Edwards

Ant was unstoppable at all three levels. He facilitated easy early buckets for Randle and Gobert before taking over himself, getting to the rim just as easily as he stepped back beyond the arc.

The Warriors entered halftime down by 21, 69-48, as Minnesota outscored them 38-20 in the second quarter. But they used a run of their own late in the third quarter and into the fourth to cut the deficit to single digits.

Edwards immediately put a stop to things with consecutive 3-pointers.

Stat of the game: 65.4%

Whether it was Edwards or anyone else, the Timberwolves got whatever they wanted inside the arc against a Warriors team that played long stretches of the game with only Post or Porzingis as their only player on the court taller than 6-foot-5.

Minnesota converted 34 of its 52 two-point field goals for a success rate of 65.4%. That opened things up from beyond the perimeter, where the Timberwolves also outshot the Warriors (40% to 31.3%)

All in all, Golden State clearly felt the absence of its best defensive player.

Up next

The Warriors head to the East Coast to begin a six-game road trip Sunday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Steph Curry (knee) will miss at least the first portion of the trip, and coach Steve Kerr said before the game he wasn’t sure if Curry would travel with the team.