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Chef Curry dices up Wolves as Warriors improve to 10-0

Stephen Curry finished with 46 points, his third 40-point game of the season, and the Warriors stayed undefeated.

By John Meyer
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS – For the fourth time this season, Warriors star and reigning league MVP Steph Curry scored more than 20 points in a quarter. The rest of the NBA has combined to do it twice (CJ McCollum, Reggie Jackson).

Curry finished with 46 points, on 25 shots, to lead Golden State to their best start in franchise history (10-0) in their 129-116 win over the Wolves. He was 8-13 from 3-point range and the Warriors matched a Target Center record with 18 makes from deep (on 38 attempts). For comparison's sake, the Wolves were 3-9 and have 43 attempts from deep over the past three games.

Ricky Rubio (mild left hamstring strain) did not play for the second consecutive game, though on Tuesday night against Charlotte it was a sore left knee that kept him out. Without Rubio, the chances of beating the best team in the league went from doubtful to basically unimaginable, although the Wolves deserve credit for fighting hard down the stretch and not hanging their heads when the Warriors were firing on all cylinders. The team easily could have quit down 91-72. Nobody would have scoffed or blamed them for throwing in the towel at that point.

"We did a great job, especially against the defending champions," Karl-Anthony Towns said. "To get down a deficit like we did, to roar back and be so close... That's something, like I've said before, we just continue to fight. When the team fights, anything is possible."

Towns scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, improving his season averages to 16.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. According to @Twolves_PR, no other player since 1985-86 has averaged 16+ points and 10+ rebounds in their first eight career games. Towns posted his sixth double-double, which only four players in the last 30 seasons have achieved in their first eight career games: Shaquille O'Neal, Dikembe Mutombo, and David Robinson.

With Towns in the fold, it does seem like anything is possible down the line. He's that impressive. So, while the Wolves lost at home for the fourth time and still haven't given the hometown fans the sweet taste of victory in front of their very own eyes this season, there remain plenty of reasons to be thrilled about the future of basketball in Minneapolis, starting with Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio.

QUOTES

Mitchell on the game and playing Curry...

"They're undefeated. We've watched [Stephen Curry] and I think everyone's watched him get out to those starts and it's something we've talked about - it's easier said than done. We kind of got back in, we got some stops. The thing about it is you commit so much effort to trying to slow Steph Curry down - he still gets 45 points. So then you sit there and you wonder, okay, if you don't do those things and just try to play conventionally, he might get 60. All you can try to do is take the ball out of his hands as much as possible, put pressure on him and test his shots. I thought our guys were there, he just makes those shots. He makes some tough shots."

Mitchell on Andre Miller...

"He just knows how to play, seventeen years. He just knows how to play. Ricky was a game-time decision and couldn't go. Zach has been playing a lot of minutes and we know we've got a back to back and in a game like this, you've got to try to put a guy there with experience. We knew Andre knows how to play, he can carry out a defensive game plan to the best that you can do against Steph Curry."

Andrew Wiggins on the early play...

"Yeah, they came out hard. We didn't come out ready to play."

On the adjustments...

"We just stuck to our principles. We worked hard, stayed aggressive. Tried to take advantage of some shots. Curry made some tough shots. We played good defense, they just had better offense."

Towns on the difference in coming back...

"We made some adjustments to our game and it was working tremendously. It got us back in the game. That's a testament to our coach and coaching staff."

NOTES

  • Andre Miller had his biggest impact of the season, finishing with 11 points, four assists, and three rebounds in 21 minutes. Miller was a team-high +12 off the bench. Plenty of folks have talked about Miller being completely washed up over the last two weeks, but tonight proved the 17-year veteran has some solid play left in the tank. He was the catalyst behind the Wolves fourth quarter push in which they cut Golden State's lead to five (104-99) with 7:35 remaining. At least The Professor forced Luke Walton to throw Curry back in the game. That was an interesting subplot, seeing as Walton wanted to get Curry more rest after playing in Memphis last night.
  • Golden State's 75 first half points were the highest scoring single half by any NBA team this season. And to think, there are still an incredible amount of people in the world that don't have the slightest idea of Rubio's worth. The saddest part of Rubio being inactive is that the national audience (TNT) didn't get to see how vital he is to the Wolves, on both ends of the floor.
  • Wiggins was aggressively attacking the basket at the end of the first half on his way to 19 points (7-17) and five assists after floating a bit and settling for long two's early in the game. Optimism: he clearly made quick adjustments.
  • Minnesota went 27-36 from the line. Golden State was 15-16.
  • Shabazz Muhammad scored a season-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including scoring nine straight points for Minnesota in the second quarter. Minnesota's reserves outscored their Golden State counterparts 61-21 tonight.
  • Draymond Green finished with 23 points (8-10), 12 rebounds, and... wait for it... he was +34 on the night.
  • Curry has now hit a three-pointer in 104 straight games (regular season and playoffs combined), including 83-straight consecutive regular season games. Stephen Curry finished with 46 points, his third 40-point game of the season, and the Warriors stayed undefeated.

GAME RECIPE

Thank you for your submission, Quoth the Raven. Feels like it wouldn't be a true Canis recap without a tasty curry dish to recommend to the fine community here at CH after Steph "Chef" Curry diced up the Wolves with another breathtaking performance.