Warriors

While the motion offense is their bread and butter, having one of the best pick-and-roll ballhandlers in the league in Steph Curry allows them to have the ...

All the Warriors had to do in this situation was to hold onto the ball, dribble it out, and burn as much clock as possible. Not to sound like a broken record, but the Warriors have lost several games due to turning the ball over too darn much. These are mistakes a team can’t afford with the playoffs looming and playoff positioning playing a crucial role. That goes for turnover percentage, as well — their 15.7 TOV% is worse than any other team in the league save for the Rockets’ 16.5 TOV%. The defense must then respond in one of two ways: either they give up the easy switch and therefore, the mismatch; or they scheme up a coverage quirk to prevent the potential mismatch. All things considered, Towns does a good job on Curry — but I felt like Curry could’ve done more to break Towns down. That’s a subtle example, but in many ways it spoke the loudest. But for some reason — bad decision making, bad process, or settling due to other factors (e.g., fatigue) — the Warriors just settled too much for my liking. The Warriors run two ballscreens (“Dive Roll”) to get Karl-Anthony Towns switched onto Curry. Such windows gave the Warriors chances to pick apart the small cracks and bust them wide open. But instead of Curry attacking Towns in isolation, he passes to Jordan Poole, who doesn’t generate anything against Taurean Prince. The Warriors have always done a great job mixing up their offense and giving opponents different looks.

Payton played in his first game for the Warriors since Game 6 of the Finals last June.

[Donte DiVincenzo](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/donte-divincenzo-5yeG2wUB9RTaEEGd/) only played 20. [Jonathan Kuminga](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jonathan-kuminga-6xXExjD2A4eIrB46/) only played 15. [Anthony Lamb](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/anthony-lamb-B2uSjdPjkmH1V3fk/) only played 18 minutes. [Jaden McDaniels](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jaden-mcdaniels-LHvrZO9NfNz4FcEt/) was face-guarding Curry. [Jordan Poole](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jordan-poole-OKSId48WraP8pRNl/) turnover in Utah in the final seconds? Or the defensive mix up in Boston that let [Jaylen Brown](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jaylen-brown-EAiBkBxmqCrObLg7/) tie it up in the final seconds? Three seconds later, Anderson was spoon-feeding [Karl-Anthony Towns](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/karl-anthony-towns-hLzEwRUGfKRoGAbX/) for the game-winning 3. [Mike Conley](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/mike-conley-ATGxUh1i1HZNS4FM/) attempted to do near the beginning of the possession. [Steph Curry](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/stephen-curry-toS7DgUD3IIt7uds/) crossed half court. The [Warriors](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/warriors/) were up two. [Moses Moody](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/moses-moody-DWiWYSvhS0V9PHzX/), who has been solid in spot minutes recently, was back out of the picture. It was his first game for the Warriors since Game 6 of the Finals last June.

Karl-Anthony Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play after Kyle Anderson stole a pass by Draymond Green, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held ...

... Mike Conley hit four of his first five 3s to score all 12 of his points in the first quarter. He played 15 1/2 minutes in his first game since the Warriors reacquired him at the trade deadline from Portland after he helped Golden State to a championship last season as a top defender. The Warriors have won 13 of 15 overall in San Francisco. ... The Warriors tied the season series 2-all. Green fouled Rudy Gobert with 27.7 seconds left to save a likely dunk, and Gobert missed the first of his two free throws. Warriors: Klay Thompson's five 3-pointers gave him 273, moving him closer to his career high in 3s for a season of 276 set in 2015-16. He scored 23 points off the bench to lead Minnesota, which snapped a 12-game skid on the Warriors' home floor. ... A replay review overturned Taurean Prince's common foul to a Flagrant 1 with 30.4 seconds left in the first, and then he picked up his third personal just four seconds later. Jordan Poole gave Golden State the lead on a 3-pointer with 1:28 left, moments after Towns had connected from deep. “Down the stretch we had it right there.” The Kings, coached by former Golden State top assistant Mike Brown, will try to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history Monday night at home against Minnesota. Naz Reid hit a baseline 3-pointer with 6:12 remaining, followed by a layup.

Kyle Anderson intercepted a Draymond Green pass and Karl-Anthony Towns turned it into a 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining, calling the game for ...

With time running out in the regular season, the Warriors will need to find a way to recover from this setback quickly. The Warriors will need to quickly recover from this setback if they hope to make a deep playoff run. The Warriors missed three possessions in the final minute, with turnovers and questionable shot selection ultimately leading to the bungled loss.

Even during pregame warmups, Gary Payton II received a loud ovation from the home crowd. The moment the game started, Payton went right to the stationary bike ...

This is right up there with one of the most frustrating losses of the season. The Warriors turned it over twice, and Minnesota took advantage. With 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Payton officially was back on the court in a Warriors jersey. The Warriors were down by two points. Two turnovers in the final minute of regulation was the difference. The Warriors failed there. Early in the fourth quarter, Payton blocked Towns, as seen above. Jordan Poole led the Warriors in points for the second straight game off the bench, ending with 27. The first look of Payton back in a Warriors jersey was exactly what Steve Kerr warned everybody about. He then played seven-plus minutes in the second before sitting the entire third. He scored nine points, shooting 3-of-4 from the field and made one of his two 3-point attempts, along with draining both of his free throws. But once again, the Warriors were downed by their own sloppiness Sunday night at Chase Center in a 99-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It came in the Bay Area, where the Wolves had lost 12 straight games dating to 2016. San Francisco, Oakland. Chase Center, Oracle Arena. The venue mattered not.

All four suffered to varying degrees because of it and Towns is the only one of the four who remains with the team. That has to happen in the playoffs. The Wolves have done a disservice to several of their promising young players over the years, including That prompts the Wolves to instead go for a steal, and Anderson read Draymond Green perfectly to intercept his pass and head the other way, where he fed KAT for the go-ahead 3. But the Wolves did bother him and did not allow him to shoot a single free throw in the game, a sign that the bigger defenders were keeping their feet against the craftiest player in the game. He finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and a blocked shot, the latest in a long line of high-quality performances for a team that desperately needs his composure and decision-making. “We weren’t able to get to the matchups we wanted because sometimes we had guys we couldn’t always put on the ball,” Finch said of the team’s defensive struggles early in the season. In doing so, they slayed a dragon that has burnt them to a crisp over and over again at Chase and Oracle over the last six years. In the jubilant visiting locker room after a stunning 99-96 victory over the Warriors on Sunday, the Timberwolves took on the look of a team that has finally found a way to make this crazy plan a problem for the rest of the league. The Wolves simply have to do that against smaller teams to survive. For a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter, Finch went with a preposterously big lineup of Towns, Reid, It came in the Bay Area, where the Wolves had lost 12 straight games dating to 2016.

The NBA has released their Last Two Minute report for the Golden State Warrior vs. Minnesota Timberwolves.

After Sunday's stunning collapse, Warriors can't create separation from the play-in games and will have to keep scoreboard watching.

No. Have one game remaining against the Warriors. Have won four games in a row and have the hardest remaining schedule of any team in the West. Have won three games in a row to surge above .500. Still have two games remaining vs. 5: Los Angeles Clippers (39-36) — 11.5 GB, seven games remaining. Playoff spot clinched, cannot fall below the No. Still have two games left vs. 4: Phoenix Suns (39-35) — 11 GB, eight games remaining. Instead, they sit a half-game behind the Clippers (39-36) and teetering just ahead of the play-in. Golden State currently sits in sixth place in the West at 39-37 with six games left in their regular season. But perhaps the biggest?

A few seconds after Mike Conley's clear foul was ignored, the Wolves got a steal and Towns hit a 3.

They are half a game behind the Warriors for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot and just 1.5 games behind the [Rudy Gobert](/nba/players/2067669/rudy-gobert/) drew a foul and earned two free throws to potentially tie the game. That Conley openly attempted to foul only made the situation more bizarre; this wasn't a typical missed call on a bang-bang play. Once Green got the ball back at the top of the key for a second time, [Kyle Anderson](/nba/players/2135515/kyle-anderson/) ran at him with what appeared to be the intention of fouling, but Green did not want to take the free throws and tried to quickly get rid of the ball. [Draymond Green](/nba/players/1992792/draymond-green/), and still the Wolves could not get a foul. They did so thanks to a clutch 3-pointer in the closing seconds by [Karl-Anthony Towns](/nba/players/2152531/karl-anthony-towns/), who finished with 14 points and five rebounds, but also thanks to a critical error by the referees.

The San Francisco Warriors wrapped up a special program Monday that benefits disadvantaged girls interested in basketball.

Then, they invited them into a locker room where brand new jerseys were hanging, with their names on the back. The experience has been a win-win for Warriors staff and the girls taking part. For the last three Mondays, the Warriors have been hosting girls from the Grassroots Oakland organization