By Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times –
MINNEAPOLIS — Ideally, the Golden State Warriors would have turned their double-digit fourth-quarter lead into a blowout. But that’s not how Golden State rolls.
Right now, the Warriors are not in it for style points anyway. Friday night’s 106-98 win over the host Minnesota Timberwolves was a case in point.
“We’ve got to be a grimy ballclub,” point guard Jarrett Jack said. “It’s not always gonna be a shirt and tie. We’re going to have to be a team that’s able to grit our teeth. And I think tonight was one of those wins.”
Yes, Golden State was playing a depleted team. The Timberwolves were missing six of their top seven players because of injury: forward Kevin Love, point guard Ricky Rubio, center Nikola Pekovic, swingman Brandon Roy, forward Chase Budinger and guard J.J. Barea.
Yes, Golden State had 14-point lead with 7:58 left and wound up needing to eke out a victory against the second-string squad.
But from the perspective of the bigger picture, the Warriors got some much-needed experience at winning. In the end, Golden State walked away from the Target Center with a win it had to have (heading into two rough road games at Oklahoma City and Dallas), registered its first win streak of the season and moved back above .500 (5-4).
“The final score is obviously the most important thing,” point guard Stephen Curry said after totaling 17 points, six assists and four rebounds. “We might have done ourselves a disservice tonight letting it get interesting down the stretch, letting them come back. But being able to withstand a run like that on the road, that’s a good way to win.”
The Warriors had a rough start Friday. They shot below 40 percent in the opening quarter. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s offense was clicking behind its trio of skilled wing players. Forwards Andrei Kirilenko and Derrick Williams and reserve swingman Alexey Shved totaled 36 first-half points on 12-of-19 shooting.
“It wasn’t there on the defensive end in the first quarter,” said Warriors forward David Lee, who finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. “They shot a good percentage. They had a lot of midrange jumpers all night.”
It was Shved who set up Minnesota forward Dante Cunningham’s second-straight midrange jumper, putting the Timberwolves ahead 44-32 with 6:52 remaining in the half. But Golden State responded by closing the half on a 21-6 run to take control of the game.
Lee scored six during the run. Forward Carl Landry added five, and his layup just before the horn sent the Warriors into the locker room ahead 53-50 despite allowing Minnesota to shoot 51.5 percent in the first half.
The surge continued for the Warriors through the third quarter. They turned up the defense, holding Minnesota to 6-of-20 shooting in the quarter. Golden State went into the fourth quarter up 82-69 and led by as much as 15 in the fourth.
Next thing they knew, back-to-back jumpers by Cunningham had cut the Warriors’ lead to 92-82 with 6:16 left. Kirilenko followed with a 3-pointer, Cunningham with another jumper, and Shved with a runner. Just like that, Golden State’s lead was down to 92-89 with just over four minutes left.
“They made plays,” coach Mark Jackson said. “They’re at home. They started making shots. “¦ We knew they’d make a run. Some of it was mistakes by us. But give them credit. At the end of the day, I’m very happy that my guys made the plays necessary to be made to allow us to leave here with a win.”
Curry hit a 20-footer to push the Warriors lead back to five, but then he fouled out with 2:49 left. His backcourt mate, guard Klay Thompson, was already knocked out of action by flu-like symptoms.
What looked dire for the Warriors — down two starters, the crowd going bananas, the Timberwolves smelling victory — was really the kind of adversity this team needs. And the Warriors sucked it up.
First Lee converted a turnaround lefty hook off the glass. After Landry blocked Cunningham’s jumper, guard Charles Jenkins — who came in for Curry — put the Warriors ahead 98-91 with a drive and left-handed scoop shot at the 2-minute mark.
Minnesota guard Luke Ridnour split two free throws. Then rookie forward Harrison Barnes (18 points, nine rebounds) put the game out of reach by driving through traffic and muscling in a finger roll.
