SAN FRANCISCO – There are many roster and style-of-play questions the Timberwolves hope to resolve during their preseason schedule, but their 143-123 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night was largely because they had no answer for Stephen Curry.
Curry scored 40 points, making 14 of 19 shots from the field. The two-time NBA MVP added six rebounds and six assists and was done for the night by the end of the third quarter. The last person to score 40 points in an NBA preseason game also was Curry against the Wolves on Oct. 8, 2017.
Jake Laymen and Jarrett Culver led the Wolves with 17 points each. They shot 40.7% from the field, including 14-for-49 on three-pointers.
The Wolves' efforts to develop an up-tempo offense with more and better three-point shooting went essentially unrewarded in the first half, allowing Golden State to take a 70-64 lead. The Wolves made only eight of 26 shots from beyond the arc (30.8%), while the Warriors were a more-efficient eight of 17 (47.1%) on threes.
Three Wolves — Jeff Teague (11 points), Shabazz Napier (10) and Layman (10) — reached double figures by halftime, but they nearly were offset by Curry's 24 points.
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