MINNEAPOLIS _ The shot drained through the basket shortly after Stephen Curry left the ball after his fingertips. Once it did, Curry danced in front of a courtside fan before sprinting back on defense.
The Warriors may have initially felt sluggish on the second night of a back-to-back at the end of a week-long, four-game trip. That was not going to stop Curry, however, from both having fun and quickly rectifying a rare poor shooting night.
So well before the Warriors finished with a 117-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Curry capped off a prolific third-quarter by performing a shimmy move. Curry finished with 36 points while shooting 12-of-21 from the field and 8-of-14 from 3, and most of his highlight reels happened in the third quarter.
He had 22 third-quarter points while going 7-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep, a stark improvement from when he labored in the first half with 11 points while shooting 4-of-12 overall and 3-of-8 from 3. His third-quarter production alone, which was one shy of his season-high for a quarter, was also only three points shy of his total output in Monday's loss to San Antonio. In that game, Curry had 25 points while shooting 9-of-25 overall and 6-of-18 from 3.
The Warriors (47-22) also cemented a 3-1 trip because of Klay Thompson overcoming his own off shooting night against San Antonio. Thompson finished with 28 points while going 11-of-21 from the field and 4-of-10 from deep, a night after having 14 points on only 5-of-18 shooting. After logging single-digit minutes in three of the past four games, Warriors reserve forward Jonas Jerebko added a season-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a career-high 14 points in the second quarter. And Kevin Durant added 17 points. Overall, the Warriors had 39 assists and only 13 turnovers.
All of which helped the Warriors overcome a few elements. They arrived here at 2:30 a.m., CT after playing in San Antonio on Monday. With DeMarcus Cousins missing his second consecutive game with a sore right ankle, Andrew Bogut struggled in his second game at starting center with two points in 13 minutes. The Timberwolves (32-39) featured Karl-Anthony Towns (26), Andrew Wiggins (20), Josh Okogie (19), Dario Saric (13), Tyus Jones (10) and Jerryd Bayless (10) in double figures.
Most of the Warriors' success, however, traced back to Curry.
The Timberwolves opened the third quarter cutting the Warriors' lead to 59-58 with 9:40 left after scoring 11 unanswered points. No matter, Curry closed the third quarter scoring the Warriors' final 14 points.
That started with Curry making a 25-foot 3, a stepback jumper and a layup. Currry then made three free throws after drawing a foul on a 3. And then he punctuated the run with that corner 3 that prompted him to dance in front of a courtside Timberwolves fan.
