MINNEAPOLIS — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry watched from the bench as his group took blow after blow from the Minnesota Timberwolves within the fourth quarter of their eventual 114-110 loss on Sunday evening.
He was prepared and anticipating to return again in, however he remained on the bench for 11 straight minutes.
After being subbed out of the sport with 4 minutes left within the third quarter, Curry did not re-enter till simply over six minutes left within the fourth. He gave them a push, however the injury was already executed.
“I need to play as many minutes as I am recent and in a position to, so I am a little bit bit [surprised] figuring out that they had been occurring a run,” stated Curry, who ended up taking part in simply half-hour. “Our lead was withering away.”
Curry scored 31 factors on 9-of-21 capturing in his half-hour, together with 5 3-pointers. Golden State was plus-6 within the minutes Curry was on the court docket, and minus-10 when he wasn’t.
However Warriors coach Steve Kerr is not prepared in charge this most up-to-date loss on Curry’s minutes.
“We won’t count on to only trip Steph sport after sport after sport,” Kerr stated. “We have put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years. We won’t count on him to play 35 minutes … If you wish to say that him taking part in half-hour as an alternative of 32 is a distinction between a win and a loss, I completely disagree with that. We’re making an attempt to win the sport. And we’re making an attempt to maintain him recent, too.”
In opposition to the Indiana Pacers on Friday — a sport during which the Warriors struggled to search out any urgency or connectivity — Curry performed 35 minutes, together with the whole lot of the fourth quarter.
“I performed the entire fourth quarter in opposition to Indiana and it did not work out, this did not work out [against Minnesota]. We have got to search out someplace within the center,” Curry stated.
He added: “The scenario will outline itself in real-time. Each sport issues as we’re inching nearer to the opposite finish of the standings we by no means thought we’d be in. Nobody goes to wave the white flag and say we’re mailing it in. If meaning taking part in extra minutes, I will be prepared to try this.”
Simply two weeks in the past, the Golden State Warriors had been motivated to work their method out of the play-in match to safe themselves a top-6 seed. However now, as Curry alluded to, their hopes for simply the 10-seed are hanging on by a thread. They sit one sport up on the Houston Rockets — one of many hottest groups within the league proper now, using an eight-game win streak.
Golden State is 2 video games again from the Los Angeles Lakers for the 9 spot.
Earlier within the week, Curry stated he did not care as a lot about the place the Warriors completed within the play-in race, simply that they spent the final handful of video games of the common season constructing habits that may permit them to outlive and advance into the playoffs.
“What Steph is saying is that if we do not construct the habits, it does not matter,” Kerr stated. “You make the play-in, you do not, if you do not have the habits you are not going anyplace.”
Heading into Sunday’s matchup, essentially the most obtrusive habits that wanted fixing had been vitality and focus. These had been most problematic in transition protection, shot choice, physicality and communication in opposition to the Pacers.
All of them fall below what the Warriors categorize as “stays” — the place somebody does not crash the boards or dash again on protection. As an alternative, they simply stand there.
The Warriors really feel that their habits had been improved rather a lot in opposition to the Timberwolves. Kerr went so far as to say if his group competes like they did in Minnesota by the final 12 video games, they’re going to put themselves able to do one thing.
There’s one caveat: The development did not result in a win. Due to that, Draymond Inexperienced stated Sunday’s efficiency should not function a glimmer of hope.
“We hold dropping,” Inexperienced stated. “That is not encouraging.”
