MINNEAPOLIS _ Even playing on the second of back-to-back nights, even with seemingly half of the team hurt or sick, the Timberwolves kept bringing the energy.
The Wolves and Golden State played Thursday night at Target Center. Two teams near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, two teams whose seasons have been altered incredibly by injury.
But, with a lineup of reserves and players who also call Des Moines _ the home of the G League Wolves _ Minnesota went out and hustled itself to a 99-84 victory.
It was a study in balance. Eight players had three or more rebounds, with Robert Covington leading the way with 10. Six players scored at least nine points, but none more than the 20 scored by Shabazz Napier.
Both he and Covington scored 20 points, helping to keep the Warriors at bay down the stretch.
Naz Reid hit three three-pointers on the way to 13. Kelan Martin had 12 and Jarrett Culver had 10.
The Warriors were led by Glenn Robinson III, who scored 16 points.
Now the Wolves, a team that struggled so mightily to win at home has now won two in a row here, without Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Jake Layman _ among others _ out of action. A team that suffered through an 11-game losing streak has now won three out of five, with the second loss a hard-fought, two-point loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
The Wolves led by 22 late in the third quarter before the Warriors went on a 17-4 run that ended with Spellman's three-point play with 8:23 left in the game that cut the lead to nine. Covington followed that with a three. After Golden State pulled within eight on Damion Lee's basket, Napier hit one of two free throws, then nailed a three-pointer with 3:38 left to put the Wolves back in control.
Napier hit the opening tip on a dead run, scoring 11 points, hitting all of his shots _ including a three-pointer and a put-back after wandering inside _ in a first quarter that ended with the Woles leading 32-19.
The Wolves shot 50 percent, made four of nine three-pointers and had a 14-0 mid-quarter explosion.
It started with the Wolves trailing 13-11. Kelan Martin missed a jumper, but Napier snuck in among the bigs and tipped it home, tying the score. Napier scored six points in the streak, which ended with Napier feeding Reid for a three-pointer that made it 25-13.
That lead grew. The Wolves were up 32-19 when Keita Bates-Diop was fouled on a three-pointer at the quarter buzzer. After two reviews, Bates-Diop hit two of three to put the Wolves up 15 entering the second.
The Wolves pushed that lead to as many as 22 in the second quarter and were still up 17 when the half ended. The second quarter belonged to Covington (nine points), Martin (seven) and Naz Reid, who hit two three pointers and flipped a slick pass to Bates-Diop for a slam dunk.
And, of course, the Wolves defense. The Warriors hit on six of 15 second-quarter shots and finished with 41 points, a season low for a Wolves opponent.
The Wolves maintained their lead for much of the third quarter, thanks in large part to Culver. Held scoreless in the first half, he scored 10 of the Wolves 23 third-quarter points.
But the Warriors, down 22 late in the quarter, ended it on a 10-2 run _ with Paschall scoring four _ to draw within 81-67 entering the fourth.
