The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves in a defenseless shoot-off in the first half with the Warriors clinging to a four point 73-69 halftime lead. The W’s were shooting the lights out in the first half, going 57.4% (27-47) from the floor with four out of their five starters in double figures (Curry 15, Wright 17, Ellis 16, Lee 13). The Timberwolves countered with the likes of Kevin Love (20 points 11 boards) Wesley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver (both with 10 points a piece.)
Head coach Keith Smart had been using a lot of bench players is the second quarter as of late, but decided to stay with mostly starters today and it seemed to pay off. The Warriors are keeping up on the boards (for the most part) with the Timberwolves and their rebounding machine Kevin Love with the W’s only grabbing 10 fewer rebounds than Minnesota (29-19) which for a team that doesn’t rebound isn’t all too bad. The Timberwolves main scoring option Michael Beasley played only 9 minutes in that first half, which was a bit odd. He was in a bit of foul trouble but must have done something that T’Wolves coach Kurt Rambis didn’t like seeing that few of minutes. The less Beasley for the W’s the better.
I guess if nobody is going to play defense, then it’s going to be a game the Warriors should have an advantage. Look for the W's to continue taking shots and keeping the tempo high in the second half.