The Golden State Warriors lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 99-96, on Sunday night, just when they were starting to see success. This was one of their most disappointing losses of the season. The Warriors appeared to be headed for their fourth straight victory, but a string of poor plays late in the contest, highlighted by a disastrous turnover with less than 20 seconds left in the game and Golden State leading by one, sealed the team’s fate.
"We didn't deserve to win. They outplayed us."
– Steve Kerr on tonight's tough loss pic.twitter.com/yfUA86BsI0
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2023
Steph explains that the Warriors were trying to kill the clock on the late-game possession which led to a turnover and KAT three pic.twitter.com/5uZKvrO9pm
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2023
Jordan Poole was the team’s leading scorer with a game-high 27 points. Despite questionable shot selection at times, his offense came in handy as the Splash Brothers struggled with efficiency after shooting a combined 13-of-40 from the field.
Clutch players blowing it, non-shooters with hot hands, lazy defenders hustling– this game felt like it was in an alternate universe. Probably also felt that way because it happened inside the NBA bubble which was an alternate universe. The deciding play saw Houston up one point with 5 seconds left. Lu Dort, not usually the world’s best shooter was squaring up.
Klay Thompson: “I didn’t take good shots to start the second half.”
Is he worried about their execution problem? “Psh. No. It’s basketball, man. It’s hard. It’s really hard.” pic.twitter.com/TJDoMYKAiX
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 27, 2023
"He was a huge part of that. People tend to forget that. That right there." 🏆
Klay Thompson pointed to the Warriors championship logo when supporting Jordan Poole after the game pic.twitter.com/umLsml2rYz
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) March 27, 2023
The only positive to come out of this game for the Warriors was the official return of Gary Payton II. He provided the team with energy through his trademark defense while even chipping in nine points which included a corner three. Payton entered the game near the end of the first quarter and received a standing ovation from the Chase Center crowd.
All love between GP2 and Dub Nation 💙 pic.twitter.com/FZfjztk2K5
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2023
The loss makes the playoff picture a lot more complicated for the Warriors. A win would have given them the tiebreaker over the Timberwolves as well as a firm hold on the sixth seed with the possibility of moving higher. However, the loss brings their record down to 39-37 with only a half game separating them from the dreaded play-in series.
Standings ramifications of that late-game loss: Warriors would've been 2.5 games up on the Timberwolves and clinched head-to-head tiebreaker. They're instead now only a half-game up and the tiebreaker (conference record) tilts toward Minnesota (26-20 compared to 25-21).
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 27, 2023
The Warriors will now attempt to bounce back with a critical home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
Source: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com
