Stephen Curry Warriors Win Snaps 0-3 Skid With 44 Points

The Stephen Curry Warriors win in Minneapolis on Wednesday night did more than snap a slump. Curry poured in a season-high forty-four points as Golden State held off the Minnesota Timberwolves, one hundred nineteen to one hundred fourteen, and moved to two and three after an ugly start to the season.

It was the second straight victory for a team that opened with three losses, and it came on the road against a Minnesota squad missing its biggest star. For anyone who thought the Warriors were done, this was a loud reply.

Curry turns back the clock

According to ESPN, Curry cleared forty points for an NBA-record forty-sixth time since his thirtieth birthday. He finished eleven of twenty-seven from the field, six of sixteen from three, and a perfect sixteen of sixteen at the free throw line, adding eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in thirty-two minutes.

The night started slow, with only four points after one quarter. Then the second quarter hit. Curry scored nineteen in that frame, seventeen of them in the first seven minutes, and by halftime he had twenty-three points with five threes, including a thirty-one-footer that always signals an in-rhythm Curry.

The Warriors' coaching staff wanted to drag Minnesota center Rudy Gobert out of the paint, so they ran high screens with Curry again and again, according to ESPN. The plan worked, and Minnesota's back-end coverage looked scattered.

A record that sits next to LeBron

The performance also put Curry in rare company. As NBC Sports Bay Area reported, it was his fifteenth game with forty or more points at age thirty-five or older, tying LeBron James for the most in league history.

It was also the seventy-sixth forty-point game of his career, the third most among active players, according to the Warriors' official recap on NBA.com. Kevin Durant is the closest active player in that category, with nine. Curry looked fresh too. He dove on the floor for a loose ball in the third quarter and said it showed how good his body felt.

Lendeborg keeps the rookie hype rolling

Curry had help. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg added twenty-six points and nine rebounds, a follow-up to his thirty-one-point, twelve-rebound night two days earlier in a blowout of the Denver Nuggets that gave Golden State its first win. That game came in only his fourth career outing.

Lendeborg was not satisfied, though. Coach Steve Kerr said the rookie was in a sour mood after committing seven turnovers, and Lendeborg himself put it bluntly: "I played hella soft today."

That honesty is the kind of thing fans love, and it matches the energy of a young player who admitted he caught himself shaking his head while watching Curry work.

Minnesota without Edwards

The Timberwolves were playing their first game since Anthony Edwards had an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga led Minnesota with twenty points, and the home side trimmed a twenty-four-point deficit to as little as three late in the fourth quarter.

LaMelo Ball had a rough outing, with six turnovers against three made field goals. Golden State got stops and free throws when it counted. Curry made all seven of his free throws in the final eight minutes.

What it means for the Warriors

The early season had been stressful. Golden State blew a twelve-point lead in the final three minutes of its home opener against Memphis, and there was talk of an early spiral. Curry said the team feels relief but knows it can play better, especially in the second half, and called the two-and-one road trip a step in the right direction.

Next up is a six-game homestand, starting Friday against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers, who crushed the Warriors in the opener. Lendeborg and Doncic had a memorable dustup in that game, so expect extra heat. The rest of the NBA season is long, but this one proved Curry can still take over a game on demand. For more hoops coverage, check the sports desk and the world desk.