Curry's 44 and 40:52 with the lead: Warriors outlast Timberwolves 114-119

Highlights

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Forty minutes and fifty-two seconds. That is how long Golden State held the lead at Target Center. Minnesota led for 3:58, never by more than five, and spent the whole night chasing a number that kept growing: 24, the Warriors' biggest lead.

The hole was dug early. Golden State took the first quarter 30-23 and the second 34-25, walking off at halftime up 64-48. Neither side strung together more than eight straight points; the margin arrived in installments, quarter by quarter, and by the break the Warriors' biggest lead had reached 24.

Then Minnesota swung. A 33-29 third quarter trimmed the deficit, and a 33-26 fourth made the finish real. Yaxel Lendeborg steadied the visitors at the line, first at 109-116, then at 112-117 around Ayo Dosunmu's three that made it 112-116. Bones Hyland's basket brought the Wolves to 114-117. Stephen Curry took the last two points himself, from the line at 114-118 and again at 114-119.

Curry did the heavy lifting: 44 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and a plus-10 in 31:35 of floor time, even at 41 percent from the field. Lendeborg added 26 on 55 percent shooting with 9 rebounds. Minnesota answered through Jonathan Kuminga's 20, Jaden McDaniels' 19 and Dosunmu's 17 with 4 steals. LaMelo Ball distributed 8 assists but scored 8 on 27 percent.

The second half belonged to the Wolves, 66-55, and they won the assist column 31-25 while forcing 17 turnovers. None of it mattered, because every Minnesota miss became a Warriors possession. Thirteen offensive rebounds against seven is not a footnote; it is the whole story of a five-point final gap.