Warriors’ Stephen Curry Surprised By His Low-Minute Total In Loss To Timberwolves

Stephen Curry told NBA reporters that he was surprised by his low-minute total during the Golden State Warriors‘ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Curry played 29:51. 

“I want to play as many minutes as I’m fresh and able to, so I’m a little bit [surprised] knowing that they were going on a run,” Curry said. “Our lead was withering away.”

The Warriors entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead against the Timberwolves. Curry’s minute total stood at 23, having rested the final 4:07 of the third quarter. With Curry out, Minnesota went on a quick run to take a 3-point lead.

When Curry returned at the 6:54 mark of the fourth quarter, the Warriors were down 97-89.

“We’re trying to keep him around 30, get him as much rest as we can,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “Played him a lot of minutes, played him 35 two days ago. As long as we were hanging in there, we wanted to limit the minutes a little bit. Not limit them, but not overplay him.”

The Warriors lost to the Timberwolves by a final score of 114-110. They are now 36-34 on the season. Golden State is only one game up on the Houston Rockets for the 10th spot in the West. 

“The situation will define itself pretty clearly,” Curry said. “It is in real time. Every game matters. We’re inching closer to the other end of the standings that we never thought we’d be in. Nobody’s gonna wave the white flag and mail it in. If that means playing more minutes, I’ll be ready to do that.”

The Warriors are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Rockets are on an eight-game winning streak. 

“The NBA is such a weird league,” Curry said. “It just takes one little spark to get yourself going. You see what Houston is doing right now. They got one little spark and they’ve run off eight, nine in a row. We’re capable of doing it. Until we run out of games, that’s the message.”