Maybe he felt bad that the Timberwolves were playing without D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns for the third consecutive game, but Stephen Curry essentially spotted the Wolves a half Wednesday night. He scored only one basket in the first half, which opened the door for the Wolves to try to take an early lead.
They couldn't, and when the third quarter started, Curry and the Warriors stopped messing around and ended the game against the undermanned Wolves in a 123-111 Warriors win in San Francisco.
Curry finished the game with 16 points — 12 in the decisive third quarter — while former Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins scored 19 as Golden State beat the Wolves for the second time in three nights. Anthony Edwards made a good impression in a nationally televised game with 25 and had an impressive second quarter while the No. 2 pick in the November draft, Golden State's James Wiseman, had 25 points and six rebounds off the bench.
The Wolves had a scare when center Naz Reid, who had been a bright spot for the Wolves in Towns' absence, left in the fourth quarter clutching his right wrist. But Reid, who had 19 points and seven rebounds, was able to return after getting hurt blocking a shot from Kelly Oubre with 7:20 remaining in the game, one the Warriors won comfortably despite the Wolves making a late run in garbage time.
The Warriors and Curry gave the Wolves a bit of a break with Curry starting 0-for-7 in the first quarter and finishing the first frame without a point. But the Wolves couldn't hit anything either. They started the game 1-for-11 and trailed Golden State the entire first quarter.
It wasn't until the two high-profile rookies checked in that the scoring finally got going. Wiseman started it for Golden State with a pair of 3-pointers as the Warriors led by as many as seven. But once Edwards entered the game, he provided the best counterpunch for the Wolves.
It has been a struggle of late for Edwards, who was shooting just 24% over his past seven games. But Edwards looked like he knew ESPN was broadcasting the game and that he was playing in front of a nationwide audience. Edwards connected from inside and out and looked unstoppable at times, especially when attacking off the dribble. The Wolves would get the lead up to five, 36-31, following a Jake Layman dunk with 7:44 remaining in the first half.
But as Edwards rested, Oubre took control for Golden State in scoring 16 of his 20 in the second quarter. At one point, Oubre stole a lazy pass from Ed Davis and was headed for a layup at the other end. Davis tried to block the shot but instead connected with Oubre's head. Officials assessed Davis a flagrant-2 foul, which called for immediate ejection.
Curry didn't score his first bucket of the game until nine seconds were left in the half and the Warriors took a 58-51 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Warriors took advantage of a shooting drought from Josh Okogie, who missed four consecutive 3-pointers. By the time Okogie exited the game following that streak, the Warriors were up 73-60 with 6:18 remaining.
Then it was essentially over.
The Warriors and Curry forgot all about their sluggish start and within the next 4:08, Golden State had increased the lead to 90-67. Curry nailed a 3 from the corner and looked back at the Wolves bench while the ball was still in the air. The Wolves would cut the lead to 12 late but couldn't get it back under 10.
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