David Lee scored 18 points and 13 rebounds to help Golden State Warriors get the better of the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-98. Both teams were not playing with their full strength and were missing some key players.
Harrison Barnes added 18 points and nine rebounds, Carl Landry scored 15 points and seven boards, whereas Stephen Curry contributed with 17 points and six assists for the Warriors.
Mark Jackson's Warriors, who lost to the Denver last weekend, showed signs of improvement in the game against the Wolves.
"We talked about it losing to Denver a couple of games ago because they out rebounded us and they dominated us," Jackson said. "So we made the adjustments and fortunately the last two games we've been doing a good job of securing the basketball, closing out defensive possessions."
Derrick Williams led the scoring for Minnesota with 23 points and seven rebounds. Alexey Shved added 22 points and seven assists, whereas Andrei Kirilenko contributed 18 points and six rebounds.
"We're running out of gas a little bit," Andrei Kirilenko said.
Minnesota were striving hard to match the Warriors, but Lee's short jumper closed it as Charles Jenkins and Barnes scored on easy drives.
"We've got to be a grinding ballclub," Jackson said. "It's not always going to be a shirt and tie. We've got to be a team that's going to be able to grit our teeth."
Six of Minnesota's top players were ruled out of the game and Rick Adelman was left with limited options.
"We're playing with guys that are support players around our team and they're playing big minutes," Adelman said. "We didn't react the way we needed to."
Timberwolves signed Josh Howard on Thursday to make-up for the absence of their key players and he responded well with a rebound and a baseline jumper in the first 27 seconds.
Just like, the Wolves, the Golden State were also missing their key players, center Andrew Bogut and swingman Brandon Rush, but still they managed to come up with a victory.
"Nobody's going to take any pity on you, any mercy on you because you're not at full strength," Jackson said.
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