Two streaks ended in the Golden State Warriors’ 100-77 win over
Minnesota at Oracle Arena on Sunday. The most notable streak to
kick the bucket was Kevin Love’s streak of double-doubles. The
Minnesota forward had 53 straight coming into the game, the most in
the NBA since the ABA merger. But the Warriors, led by forward
David Lee, held him to six points on 1-for-6 shooting with 12
rebounds.
OAKLAND
Two streaks ended in the Golden State Warriors’ 100-77 win over Minnesota at Oracle Arena on Sunday.
The most notable streak to kick the bucket was Kevin Love’s streak of double-doubles. The Minnesota forward had 53 straight coming into the game, the most in the NBA since the ABA merger. But the Warriors, led by forward David Lee, held him to six points on 1-for-6 shooting with 12 rebounds.
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The other streak to die: the Warriors’ recent pattern of playing to the level of their competition.
On the recent road trip, Golden State (30-36) lost to Minnesota, Indiana and a New Jersey team without its best player. Meanwhile, the Warriors nearly won at Boston and forced overtime in Philadelphia. Then, Friday at home, they beat Orlando in overtime, upsetting the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference.
But Sunday, the Warriors handled business against the lowly Timberwolves. No lulls in energy. No late-game scares. The Warriors dominated, led by Stephen Curry’s 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Warriors also got 16 points and five assists from Monta Ellis, who played just eight of his 28 minutes in the second half. Forward Lou Amundson led the bench effort with 11 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
But the star of the show arguably was Lee, though he had just eight points on 3-for-7 shooting with six rebounds. One night after helping the Warriors contain Orlando center Dwight Howard, Lee kept Love bottled up all game. Love came in averaging 20.9 points and 15.8 rebounds.
The Warriors found themselves leading after an unattractive first quarter. The teams combined for 11 turnovers and 43.9 percent shooting. Curry scored eight of his 10 first-quarter points in the final 4:22. He powered a 15-6 Warriors run to close the quarter, turning a six-point deficit into a 26-23 lead entering the second quarter.
The Warriors got ahead by as much as nine in the second quarter. They led 43-34 after a fadeaway jumper by Ellis, who had eight points in the period. The lead was still nine inside of three minutes. But the Timberwolves got a 3-pointer from guard Luke Ridnour and a three-point play from forward Michael Beasley to cut the Warriors’ lead to three. Golden State went into intermission with a 49-44 advantage.
The Warriors didn’t let Minnesota get back in the game this time. That five-point halftime lead was up to 57-46 three minutes into the third quarter after a floater and a pair of free throws by Ellis. A couple minutes later, forward Dorell Wright extended the lead with a 3-pointer and a fast-break dunk. Golden State led 62-46 with 6:12 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors led by 16 points entering the fourth quarter. This was despite missing 15 of 23 shots (34.8 percent) in the third. The Warriors forced eight turnovers by Minnesota in the third quarter and held the Timberwolves to 5-for-19 shooting (26.3 percent).
Though the Warriors were pulling away, Love took just one shot in the third quarter, missing it.
Golden State was on cruise control the rest of the way. Ellis sat the entire fourth quarter. Finally, the Warriors had easily handled a team they should.
—The Warriors set a lot of highs Sunday. Rookie Ekpe Udoh had a career-high five blocks. The Warriors had a season-high 16 steals, including a season-high four by Andris Biedrins. The 27 turnovers forced by the Warriors was also season-high. Amundson’s 11 points were a season-high.
— Story by Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times
