Getty Patrick Baldwin Jr. Looks on from the Golden State Warriors bench.
The Golden State Warriors are now winners of two straight, following their 109-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Two days prior, they downed the Houston Rockets in convincing fashion, behind 42 points from Klay Thompson.
Golden State also got a strong bench contribution from rookie-wing Patrick Baldwin Jr. Baldwin scored 11 points in just 16 minutes as a reserve.
His performance did not go unnoticed. After the game, Thompson dished out some serious praise, predicting that Baldwin will someday be a star in the league.
“He’s just oozing with potential,” Thompson told Jason Mastrodonato of the Mercury News following the game. “Beautiful, beautiful shot. Perfect form. At that height, he’s a prototypical main player, and he’s got star potential, so I love his humility about his work ethic. And it’s just exciting times. He’s a great prospect.”
Patrick Baldwin Jr. Compares Shorthand Warriors to ‘Wounded Dog’
Friday’s win over the Rockets was even more impressive because the Dubs were missing key pieces like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins. Baldwin Jr. spoke to reporters after the fact, comparing his shorthanded Warriors team to a wounded dog.
“I think the mood of the team is great. I think we know we have enough. Obviously with (missing) those pieces (Curry, Green, and Wiggins) it’s going to be a big blow to us, Baldwin Jr. said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “But, you always gotta watch out for that wounded dog, that’s what my father always told me. You know, when that dog is wounded it’s going to fight, and I think we’re going to fight.”
PBJ knows the Dubs won’t go down without a fight
Baldwin’s promising display was his second in as many nights. He previously scored another 11 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Timberwolves Coach Praises Warriors’ Klay Thompson, Slams Refs
Thompson followed up his strong showing against the Rockets, with a 32-point outburst against Minnesota Sunday.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had some serious praise for the sharpshooter, following the tight game at Chase Center.
“He’s a great player. He’s really found his form and looks like he’s fully back in a lot of ways,” he told reporters. “He’s going to make shots, some of those shots we have to live with. We’re prepared to live with those. The banked three from the corner was a bit of a backbreaker at the time. We battled him, and he didn’t get a ton of clean looks, I’ll tell you that. But, he doesn’t need a lot of time or space.”
On top of Thompson’s strong outing, Finch also detailed the Dub’s defensive schemes used to slow down Anthony Edwards. He started by calling out the different defenses Golden State threw at the former No. 1 overall pick, before shifting his focus to the lack of free throw attempts Edwards received.
“They were doing a good job of throwing bodies at him. They gave him box and one, gave him different looks. He did a good job, he had seven assists. That’s the kind of game that was set up for him,” Finch explained. “He goes to the hoop, he takes one free throw attempt and it was off of a defensive three second call. I don’t understand it. I thought he was going to the hoop. He gets stripped in there a few times, maybe it’s crowded and it’s tough to see. He’s got one of the highest rim rates in the league and we need a little bit more benefit of the doubt and to get to the line there… They went to the line steady in the first half. A lot of it, I thought was marginal contact around the paint. I thought we might’ve deserved the same looks.”