The Minnesota Timberwolves came from behind for an impressive overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Target Center. Golden State Warriors 130 Minnesota Timberwolves 131 The Minnesota Timberwolves had lost six out of their last seven games including an uninspiring home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. But on Friday, the Wolves staged a massive second-half comeback that largely came with All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns on the bench due to foul trouble. Then, after a furious Warriors rally tied the game in regulation, the Wolves built a large overtime lead that came under siege in the final seconds before a Towns free throw sealed the win. The Wolves hung tough in the first half, trailing by five at the end of the first quarter but tying the game multiple times in the second frame. Golden State went on a late run just prior to halftime, however, and took a 68-52 lead into the break. That lead ballooned to as many as 19 points, and with Towns headed to the bench with four personal fouls in the third quarter, the game appeared all but over. But the starting lineup, sans Towns and plus Gorgui Dieng, went on a quick 16-5 run to pull the Wolves to within eight. Then, as reserves entered the game, the Wolves continued to get strong minutes from the likes of Anthony Tolliver and Jerryd Bayless. A steal and a pair of free throws from Tyus Jones in the closing moments of the third quarter allowed the Wolves to complete their comeback and tie the game at 86 heading to the final frame. With Towns returning to the floor in the fourth, the Wolves led by as many as nine points and were up by six with two minutes left. But an easy dunk by Andre Iguodala, a bad shot by Bayless and a quick 3-pointer from Steph Curry trimmed the lead to one point with 49.6 seconds left. After a timeout, Towns lost the ball on the other end but came back to block a layup attempt from Kevin Durant. Then, Andrew Wiggins lost the ball and committed a foul, but Draymond Green only made one of two free throws. In a tie game with 21.8 seconds left, Wiggins had two chances to win the game but missed both and the contest went to overtime. Overtime was all Timberwolves for the first three-plus minutes as the Wolves led by nine points with 1:41 showing on the clock. A quick three from Curry was followed by a pair of bad Minnesota possessions. Then, another made three and only one of two made free throws by Bayless. That meant a four point game with 20.2 seconds left. Curry missed a 3-point attempt but Draymond Green scored on the rebound. Josh Okogie made one of two free throws, and after a timeout, Durant sunk a 3-pointer that was waved off due to a foul on the floor by Keita Bates-Diop. It was a borderline call that canceled out what could have been a game-winning four-point play, but the odds are that the NBA’s Last Two Minutes Report that will be issued on Saturday will validate the referee’s decision. Then, a made 3-pointer in the corner from Curry that was the stuff of legends. For some reason, Bayless chose not to foul Curry with a three-point lead in the closing seconds, and Curry made him pay. After a timeout with 0.5 seconds left, Towns was grabbed from behind by Durant as he cut to the basket looking for a lob pass. KAT made the first free throw, intentionally missed the second, and that was that. Here’s a video of the last few possessions: Insane ending to the Wolves OT victory over the Warriors. 😂 at Steph Curry pointing at the ref (22 second mark) then the ref getting revenge a few seconds later. pic.twitter.com/vtFDb5qHPc — Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 30, 2019 KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS Center, Minnesota Timberwolves B+ This was the second-straight game in which Towns struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 5-for-17 and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. But he contributed 13 rebounds and seven assists and scored the majority of his 15 points in the second half. Towns clearly impacted the game down the stretch and, of course, made the game-winning free throw. ANDREW WIGGINS Guard/Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves B This was one of those rare volume-scorer nights that was probably a plus for the Wolves. While it took Wiggins 24 shots to score 24 points (gross), he also had nine rebounds, three assists and a block and hit a few big shots in the fourth quarter. Wiggins was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.<doc-sep>Warriors can only laugh their way to bank in bizarre loss to T'Wolves originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com The Warriors spent Friday night giving away a game and then chuckling in the face of defeat, two acts completely independent of each other. They were miserable about blowing a 19-point lead, as well they should have been for opening the door to debacle. But they were utterly flabbergasted by the dark comedy - from their point of view - staged by the officiating crew over the final seconds of a 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They left the Target Center floor practically giggling. They knew what happened, knew how they were going to respond, and decided this would be one of those rare instances when, even after losing, the wackiness called for laughter as perhaps the only response. The Warriors were perfectly willing to laugh their way to the bank, though not for the usual reasons. They'll be digging into their pockets to pay fines to the NBA for what the Warriors believe - with some validity - was being victims in a robbery. After watching repeated postgame video replays of the final seconds, during which Kevin Durant was denied a four-point play opportunity that would have given them a 130-127 lead with 4.4 seconds remaining in overtime, the Warriors lined up and took turns verbally roughing up the game officials. Coach Steve Kerr got in his licks. Stephen Curry came in kicking. Durant jumped in, too, throwing a few punches. "I want to keep my money cause they gave me two bullsh*t techs... let me just stop talking about the officiating." pic.twitter.com/ZsRa113K72 — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 30, 2019 Referee Marat Kogut, who has officiated more than 500 NBA games over the past 10 years, was the primary target. It was Kogut who, by any reasonable assessment, botched the call when Durant drained what appeared to a game-tying 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds remaining. Kogut ruled that Minnesota rookie Keita Bates-Diop committed a foul on Durant before the Warriors star went into his shooting motion. Story continues The shot didn't count, and there would be no potential game-winning free-throw attempt to follow. This last sequence in OT 😶 pic.twitter.com/IoZdmpFUkd — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 30, 2019 Players on both sides appeared to be confused by the call, which gave the ball back to the Warriors, who tied it anyway, on a miraculous corner 3-pointer by Curry with 0.8 seconds left. Curry's clutch triple came, however, without the potential clincher, giving the Timberwolves the ball with 0.5 seconds remaining and the Warriors a minuscule chance at victory. That was enough, as Durant was whistled for a foul on Karl-Anthony Towns as the Minnesota center broke toward the basket in anticipation of an inbounds pass. The whistling official, Leon Wood, is a 23-year veteran of more than 1,300 games. Towns made the first free throw to provide the final margin, and intentionally missed the second to run out the clock. The Warriors' response to the conclusion was to shake their heads and laugh. They'd done their part in a horrid third quarter - with 5-of-20 shooting and eight turnovers - to give back a victory they should have had. "We went into halftime with 20 assists and three turnovers ... broke the game open in the second quarter," Kerr said. "We were rolling along, and everyone was feeling great at halftime. "The third quarter was a disaster. We stopped playing. Give Minnesota a lot of credit. They competed really well, got back in the game. We stepped on our own toes in that quarter." [RELATED: KD calls out ref on IG after Warriors' controversial loss] But the Warriors then rallied from a six-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to force OT, during which they wiped a nine-point deficit over the final 92.5 seconds. Only to end up losing to the sour sounds of whistles. "For sure, in the third quarter we didn't play well," Curry told reporters at Target Center. "They made a run, and that's when it became a game, down the stretch. It's just tough, effort like that gets sabotaged." There are times when punishment, whether physical or financial, is worth taking because the act is so cathartic. For the Warriors, this was such a time. They'll all pay for their "crimes." The good news for the Warriors is that there are so many ways to pay. After what went on in the final minutes of overtime, I'd send cash. In pennies.<doc-sep>
If you had some money on Friday night's game between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves, you might have gone into cardiac arrest. There were plenty of twists and turns in what ended up being a 131-130 overtime Timberwolves win, and it certainly wasn't without controversy. Early in the game, the Warriors appeared to be cruising, building a 19-point lead at one point. However, the Wolves fought back and forced overtime ... which is where the real fun began. Here's a quick recap of the final seconds of one of the wildest games of the year. Durant's potential four-point play waved off With Golden State trailing by three and 5.8 seconds remaining in overtime, Kevin Durant received the inbounds pass and immediately went up for a long 3-pointer. The ball went in as the whistle sounded, leading pretty much everyone to think that Durant now had a chance to give the Warriors the lead with a four-point play. BUT WAIT! The refs ruled that the foul occurred before the shot (it certainly looked simultaneous on the replay). The ruling: No basket, ball out of bounds to the Warriors. Curry's insane 3-pointer ties game Since the Wolves had fouled Durant on the previous play, most expected that they would do the same rather than allow one of the team's dead-eye shooters to get a look at the tie. When the ball was inbounded to Curry, the foul seemed inevitable. But for whatever reason Jerryd Bayless decided not to foul, and Curry made a miraculous, double-pump fadeaway 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game. Curry appears to taunt ref After his game-tying 3-pointer, Curry was understandably jubilant. He ran down court celebrating, but he also pointed in the direction of one of the refs, who had his back turned to the court. We're not mind readers, but it's not hard to connect the dots. Curry and the Warriors were livid about the previous call on Durant, so it appears as if Curry was taking the opportunity to taunt the ref. Controversial foul call on Durant There's no way this game could have just gone to a second overtime, right? With 0.5 seconds remaining, the Wolves attempted a lob pass to Karl-Anthony Towns that sailed about a mile over his head out of bounds, seemingly ending the first overtime period. However, the referee whistled that Durant had pushed Towns in the back while he was attempting to catch the pass, giving Towns two free throws. He stepped up to the line and made the first, then missed the second on purpose to give the Wolves the one-point victory. Kerr sounds off Needless to say, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not pleased with the outcome of the final seconds. He discussed both of the controversial Durant calls after the game. On the final foul call: "You mean when the lob was going 10 feet over the rim? I haven't seen that." On waving off Durant's made basket: "Did I think it was before the shot? I just watched the replay. He caught and he shot. It's a four-point play. I mean, I don't know what else to say. Mind-boggling. ... In any league that's a good bucket and a free throw. Any league, not just the NBA." It's just a regular season loss, but it put the Warriors in a tie with the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Western Conference. If Golden State ends up losing the No. 1 seed, they might look back at this loss and be even saltier.