Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry observed from the sidelines as his team endured a barrage of attacks from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the final quarter of their eventual 114-110 defeat on Sunday night.
Anticipating his return to the game, Curry found himself benched for an uninterrupted 11 minutes. Substituted out with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, he didn’t re-enter until just over six minutes into the fourth. Despite his efforts upon his return, the damage had already been done.
Expressing his desire to contribute as much as possible, Curry admitted, “I want to play as many minutes as I’m fresh and able to, so I’m a little bit [surprised] knowing that they were going on a run… Our lead was withering away.”
Steve Kerr (Via NBA/Twitter)
In his 30 minutes of play, Curry managed to score 31 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including five 3-pointers. The Warriors held a plus-6 margin while Curry was on the court but faced a minus-10 deficit in his absence.
Nonetheless, Warriors coach Steve Kerr refused to attribute the loss solely to Curry’s playing time.
Kerr emphasized, “We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game after game… If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is a difference between a win and a loss, I totally disagree with that. We’re trying to win the game. And we’re trying to keep him fresh, too.”
Reflecting on recent games, Curry remarked, “I played the whole fourth quarter against Indiana and it didn’t work out, this didn’t work out [against Minnesota]. We’ve got to find somewhere in the middle.”
Steve Kerr (Via NBA/Twitter)
Addressing the team’s dwindling playoff prospects, Curry emphasized the importance of maintaining focus regardless of their seeding. Kerr echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the significance of building sustainable habits to progress.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, the Warriors identified energy and focus as areas needing improvement, particularly in transition defense, shot selection, physicality, and communication.
Despite strides made in these areas against the Timberwolves, the Warriors fell short of victory. Draymond Green emphasized the need to translate improvements into wins, stating, “We keep losing. That’s not encouraging.”
