Warriors escape with win over Timberwolves to cap tumultuous trip

MINNEAPOLIS — The Warriors hit their low-point of the season north of the border, but bounced back against the Timberwolves stateside.

Golden State dominated the first quarter, building a 24-point lead behind swarming defense and a barrage of 3-pointers.

No lead is safe in the NBA, especially a Warriors lead. Minnesota clawed back, quarter by quarter, offensive rebound by offensive rebound, free throw after free throw, tying the game late in the fourth quarter.

But Steph Curry elevated down the stretch, nailing two 3-pointers in the last three minutes. Curry finished with 31 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 37 minutes.

Despite some late-game turnover and foul-shooting drama, the Warriors held on for a 116-115 win. Andrew Wiggins (24 points), Trayce Jackson-Davis (15 rebounds) and Buddy Hield (18 points) made major contributions. The Warriors lost every quarter after the first, but their early onslaught held just enough to sneak back home to the Bay Area with a win.

The Warriors (20-20) overcame the absences of Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Kyle Anderson in the victory. They took three of four in the season series against Minnesota and finished their four-game road trip 2-2.

The competitive spirit Golden State had been lacking appears back. The loss to Toronto that brought them below .500 for the first time this season is in the past. The trade deadline talk of not mortgaging the future will remain for the next few weeks, but games like Wednesday were much needed for any direction the franchise chooses.

The Target Center crowd’s tradition is to stay standing until the first Timberwolves basket. The Warriors had the arena on its feet for the first 4:27.

Golden State forced eight straight clanks from the Wolves. They missed from outside, inside and and everywhere in between as the Warriors scored the game’s first 13 points.

The first quarter was perhaps the most connected the Warriors have looked since their 12-3 start to the season. They swarmed defensively, forcing turnovers, and pushed the pace accordingly. It helped that Curry hit his first four 3-pointers, the last of which he held the follow-through with a 29-8 lead.

Right before that triple, Curry found Buddy Hield for a 3 with a no-look pass as two Timberwolves swarmed him at midcourt.

Part of the Warriors’ hot start came because of Gui Santos, who got his first career start. Santos probably isn’t a long-term answer, but he brings the type of energy and connectivity the Warriors have often lacked this year.

Undersized without Green (illness), Anderson (hamstring) and Kuminga (ankle), Jackson-Davis rose to the challenge against Minnesota’s humongous frontcourt. The second-year center grabbed six first-quarter boards and finished an alley-oop dunk to put Golden State up 34-10.

The Warriors played much more handsy defense than in recent memory, forcing as many turnovers (5) as they allowed field goals in the first quarter.

Golden State’s offense, ranked in the bottom third of the league for almost two months, was bound for regression. With Curry on the bench in the second quarter, it stalled out, allowing Minnesota to embark on a 9-0 run. With Curry back, Golden State recovered and entered halftime with a 55-42 edge.

The Wolves tried to impose their will in the paint in the second half, and Donte DiVincenzo poured in nine straight points at one point, but the Warriors maintained their lead. Even as the game slowed with a plethora of fouls, Golden State executed in the halfcourt. Moses Moody finished a shot over Rudy Gobert and Gary Payton II — in his first action since missing 10 games — cut baseline for a layup.

Every time the Timberwolves made a run, the Warriors steadied. Wiggins got aggressive, bullying his way to the line for eight foul shots in the third quarter alone.

But in the fourth, the Timberwolves got to loose balls first, crashed the offensive glass and ramped up their on-ball defense. They stifled Curry with double teams and closed defensive possessions with rebounds.

Clinging to a three-point lead, Wiggins muscled his way into the lane for a finger roll, bailing out a possession that looked headed for nowhere land at 7:29. In the middle portion of the fourth, as Curry sat, Wiggins and Moody kept the offense afloat.

Schroder (12 points) fouled out with 4:10 left, and Naz Reid put back a missed foul shot to inch the Wolves within two.

With 2:32 left, Curry drained a corner 3 for his first points of the fourth quarter. DiVincenzo answered with his sixth trey of the night, and Curry misfired on a catch-and-shoot chance. Reid stuffed Wiggins in the lane and high-jumped for a loose ball, earning game-tying foul shots with 1:07.

Curry pump-faked and canned another 3 in the corner to put the Warriors back up 3, chirping a fan in the front row as Minnesota called timeout. A pair of Wiggins foul shots — his 11th and 12th against his former team — found the bottom of the net.

Beyond a late inbounds turnover and iffy foul shooting, the Warriors converted just enough in winning time.