The Golden State Warriors picked up their second straight win on Sunday night, when they topped the Minnesota Timberwolves, 109-104. Klay Thompson proved to be the driving force for Golden State once again, hanging a game-high 32 points on the Wolves.
Following his team’s losing effort, Minnesota’s head coach Chris Finch had some serious praise for the Warriors star.
“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.”
Timberwolves Coach Slams Officials in Loss to Warriors
Finch was also asked about Golden State’s defensive emphasis on Anthony Edwards. He first detailed the different strategies the Dubs used, before pivoting to the lack of free throw attempts for Edwards.
“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.”
Patrick Baldwin Jr. Compares Warriors to a ‘Wounded Dog’
The Warriors preceded Sunday’s tight win over the Wolves, with a dominant showing against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
The Dubs were able to control the game despite missing key pieces like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins. Rookie wing Patrick Baldwin Jr. compared his shorthand Golden State team to a wounded dog, after the 116-101 victory over the Rockets.
“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
The rookie pieced together a strong night off the bench against Houston. Baldwin scored 11 points in 16 minutes. Just the night before, he tallied another 11 in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Timberwolves Coach Sounds Off on Klay Thompson, Officials After Loss to Warriors