Instant Replay: Warriors fight back, fall in final seconds to T'Wolves

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BOX SCORE

Klay Thompson clearly has recaptured his shot. The Warriors, however, have not rediscovered their magic.

Falling behind early and missing 3-pointers throughout Friday night, the Warriors took a 103-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Minnesota forward Andrew Wiggins, who missed two free throws 18 seconds earlier, drained a pair with 12.8 seconds to play to clinch the victory.

Thompson poured in a game-high 30 points to keep the Warriors in the game. Stephen Curry had another poor shooting night (10-of-27), but finished with 26 points and Ian Clark came off the bench to add 10.

The Warriors (52-13) played ferocious defense in the fourth quarter, holding the Timberwolves to 15 points on 26.3-percent shooting, but it wasn’t quite enough to gain the victory.

After going nearly two years without suffering back-to-back losses, the Warriors have lost twice in a row on two occasions over the past eight days. They’ve lost four of their last six games.

The primary culprit is poor 3-point offense, as they struggled once again shooting 29.2 percent (7-of-24) beyond the arc.

Center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points to pace the Timberwolves (27-37), who led for most of the game.

STANDOUT PERFORMER

Several Warriors did their part, though none more than Thompson.

Thompson’s line: 30 points (12-of-22 from the field, 3-of-6 from deep, 3-of-4 from the line), six rebounds, two assists and one steal. He played 36 minutes and finished plus-9.

TURNING POINT

The teams were never more than five points apart over the final nine minutes, though the Warriors took a lead on a Curry floater with 19.7 seconds remaining. Wiggins made the decisive free throws shortly thereafter.

INJURY UPDATE

Warriors: G Shaun Livingston (rest) and F Kevin Durant (L knee sprain, tibial bone bruise) were listed as out. C Damian Jones is on assignment with Santa Cruz of the NBA Development League.

Timberwolves: G/F Brandon Rush (illness) was listed as probable and upgraded to available. G Zach LaVine (L knee surgery) and C Nikola Pekovic (Chronic R ankle pain) were listed as out.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Warriors left immediately after the game for San Antonio, where on Saturday they face the Spurs at AT&T Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. Pacific.

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