Why Steph vs. Edwards matchup key to Warriors’ rematch vs. T-wolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – With the Warriors facing the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second time in three days, we have our first immediate individual rematch of the season.
For the Warriors: Stephen Curry.
For the Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards.
When the teams meet Sunday afternoon at Chase Center (5:30 tipoff), Curry and the Warriors will be seeking retribution for the 107-90 thrashing they received on Friday. Minnesota took charge with a 21-2 run early in the second quarter, and then it responded to Golden State’s third-quarter rally by opening the fourth with a 23-9 run.
Though the Warriors punished themselves in multiple ways – including a season-high 22 turnovers – the Timberwolves’ defense was the decisive factor. Golden State scored 31 points in the first quarter but only 59 (to Minnesota’s 76) over the final three.
Much of the damage was inflicted by Edwards, who posted game highs in points (30, on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-10 from distance), assists (nine) and plus-minus (plus-23). He scored 18 points in the second half, with 11 coming in the fourth quarter.
Edwards was able to orchestrate the action despite frequently facing double-teams.
“He was pretty masterful in that,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve got to do a little bit of a better job of providing clean spacing around some of that time that he is getting doubled, but I thought he did a great job of getting off it, racing it, getting downhill, mixing it all up. When we needed him to step up and just make a shot out of nothing, he did that a couple times too.”
Curry, also facing some double teams, was unable to respond. Playing with achy knees that kept him out of the previous game, he finished with a team-high 23 points but shot only 6-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He committed three turnovers, two in the fourth quarter.
Curry’s minus-3 was the team’s best plus-minus among those who played at least 20 minutes. The Warriors were at their relative best when Curry was on the floor, they were demolished (minus-14) when he was subbed out.
“It’s been tough to score at times, but we can’t let that affect our overall commitment to both ends of the ball,” Curry said. “Good news is we got another opportunity on Sunday.”
A Golden State win would snap a five-game losing streak against the Timberwolves, and a loss would be its seventh in eight games.
NBC Sports BayArea
