1-Game Overreaction: Golden State Warriors Beat Minnesota Timberwolves In Statement Game of the Week
Nov 6, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love (42) defends on Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) in the second half at Target Center. The Warriors won 106-93. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Wednesday, November 6, 2013. A day we’ll always remember as the moment the Golden State Warriors took one of the small but necessary steps in the transition from a pretty good team to a pretty great team.
The Dubs thrashed the Minnesota Timberwolves last night by a final score of 106-93, and in a battle of two 3-1 teams, one club separated itself as a force to be reckoned with, while the other got a reality check to temper expectations that probably shouldn’t have been as high as they were. I mean, it is the Minnesota Timberwolves we’re talking about, amirite?
Adversity? This game had it. Andrew Bogut was in foul trouble all night and played a grand total of 16 minutes before fouling out. Stephen Curry left the game after injuring both legs in the third quarter, first on a run-in with Ricky Rubio where he hyperextended his right knee and then rolling his left ankle shortly after re-entering the game.
The Warriors of old might have packed it in and called it a night. Not this team. You know what that tells me? Championship pedigree.
Klay Thompson poured in 19 points in the fourth quarter to finish the night with 30, and David Lee had 22 points and 15 rebounds and said to Kevin Love after the game, “There can be only one.” No word on whether or not Love — who had 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two steals — made it out of the Target Center; speculation is abounding today that Lee inherited the Western Conference Player of the Week’s powers after a deadly sword fight following the post-game press conferences.
Perhaps most encouraging was the performance of Harrison Barnes, who 6-for-8 from the floor with 14 points in his first game back from a mysterious foot injury. It’s entirely possible that the injury was caused by an attack by a wild timberwolf, and that the Black Falcon’s performance was a fitting retaliation to declare his supremacy over not only his basketball foes, but the animal kingdom as well. Barnes = Beastmaster. All I’m saying is that it’s possible.
The Warriors now travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs Friday night. Western Conference Finals preview? Maybe. All depends on if the Spurs’ training staff can keep their players’ bones from exploding into a cloud of dust. I projected Golden State to lose this game in last week’s edition of “1-Game Overreaction”, mainly because Gregg Popovich is an evil wizard. Either way, my prediction of a regular season 75-7 record for the Warriors is still intact, so in the immortal words of Charlie Sheen: WINNING!