Kendra AndrewsESPN12:20 AM ET3 Minute Read
SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have struggled to finish games all season. And it felt like they would meet the same fate on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With 26 seconds to go and just five left, Anthony Lamb turned the ball over on a lazy inbound pass to cut the lead to three. Six seconds later, Klay Thompson turned the ball over.
But unlike so many other times, they managed to pin the Timberwolves and claim a 109-104 victory.
“It was a team win,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “Everybody got in there and fought and played well…against the team we’re tied with in the standings, just a tremendous win. … They’re all big, but I liked this one for the grit we had to show to get it done.”
According to Donte DiVincenzo, it came down to the heart.
After a sluggish first three quarters, the momentum of the game began to change for Golden State when they were down 8:20 in the fourth quarter. Kerr called a time-out after Austin Rivers hit a 3-pointer to set the Timberwolves up. What was said in that throng completely changed the energy of the warriors.
“We had to keep our heads up,” DiVincenzo said. “We know that for other teams it’s not game over when we’re up nine or twelve. They will keep fighting, that was the message during the time-out. We were right there, within striking distance.”
The Warriors went on a 23-5 run after that timeout, including a monster 3 pointer from Thompson around the two-minute mark. Golden State surpassed Minnesota 31-17 overall during that period.
Golden State also held Minnesota to just 2-of-8 in clutch time, including 0-of-5 on 3-point attempts. The Timberwolves had only one open look in the clutch period.
After getting the shot, Thompson turned to Minnesota’s bench, yelled at them, and jumped up and down. Thompson finished the night with 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 6-of-14 from three. He also scored or assisted on nine of the Warriors’ 13 points in clutch time.
This follows his 42-point performance, where he hit 12 3-pointers and no 2-pointers. He’s made 18 3s in his last two games — the second-highest in a two-game span of his career (19 earlier this month on Feb. 6-8).
“He’s a Hall of Famer,” DiVincenzo said. “What he is doing is not unusual. He’s had a damn good career. Klay Thompson is still Klay Thompson at the end of the day. This rim is always so big. And I love that.”
The Warriors have relied more heavily on Thompson in the last two games, being without Stephen Curry (left lower leg) and Draymond Green (right knee bruise). They also play without Andrew Wiggins as he is attending to a family matter, as well as Gary Payton II and Andre Iguodala.
DiVincenzo also added 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4 3-pointers, eight rebounds and four steals. Kevon Looney finished the tournament with 12 points and 17 rebounds (seven offensive boards). He’s hit double-digit rebounds in six straight games, a new career high.
With no clear timetable for the return of any of their absent players, squeezing that win out of the Timberwolves was a massive confidence boost. That also had a big impact on the ranking.
At the start of Sunday’s game, the Warriors and Timberwolves both had .500 records and finished seventh and eighth in the play-in tournament. With Golden State’s win, it now has a half-game advantage for seventh place over the Utah Jazz and is another half-game behind the Dallas Mavericks in sixth place.
“I have to be aware,” Thompson said of keeping the tables. “[A win like Sunday’s] is huge. Every game counts, but especially so from now on. The west is currently packed. … From now on, every game is incredibly important.”