Warriors edge Timberwolves 94-91 behind strong play by Curry, bench

The Golden State Warriors got 24 points from star point guard Stephen Curry and strong play from their reserves to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 9491.

The Western Conferenceleading Warriors won their third straight game, although the squad appeared fatigued in struggling once again against a weak opponent.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson, who like Curry will represent Golden State in Sunday’s AllStar Game in New York, made a big 3pointer late in Wednesday night’s contest at the Target Center in Minneapolis but scored just 14 points on an inefficient 5of14 from the field.

Curry also was off with his shot, making just nine of his 23 fieldgoal attempts and going 2of10 from 3point range, but he still scored 24 points and also contributed with eight assists and three steals.

Brazilian guard Leandro Barbosa gave his team a lift off the bench, scoring 10 points on 5of10 shooting and forming part of a reserve crew that outscored its Timberwolves counterparts 3414.

The Timberwolves went 20of27 from the freethrow line, compared to the Warriors’ 7of9 shooting from the charity stripe, but atrocious offense by their bench (1of17 on shots from the field) was the difference in a tight contest.

Starting shooting guard Kevin Martin had a teamhigh 21 points for Minnesota, while Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio had a seasonhigh 18 points, six of them coming on 3pointers, as well as nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.

For the game, Golden State shot just 44 percent from the field but held Minnesota to a paltry 38 percent shooting.

The Timberwolves fell to 1142 on the season, while the Warriors improved their leaguebest record to 429.

Golden State also did not look sharp in wins Saturday and Monday over the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.

In other action Wednesday night in the NBA, the Boston Celtics upset the Eastern Conferenceleading Atlanta Hawks 8988, the San Antonio Spurs rolled past the Detroit Pistons 10487, the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 11393 win over the Miami Heat, and the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the Memphis Grizzlies 10589.