The Golden State Warriors were five minutes into a scoring drought Wednesday night in Minneapolis when Stephen Curry hit his first 3-pointer of the second quarter. He kept going, scoring Golden State's opening 11 points of the period on his way to 19 in the quarter.
By the final horn he had a season-high 44 points, and the Warriors had a 119-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that was a lot closer at the end than it looked for most of the night.
Curry made 11 of 27 shots, six of them from 3-point range, and all 16 of his free throws. He added eight rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes, according to the official box score.
A big quarter, then a long night
Five of Curry's six 3-pointers came in that second quarter, two nights after he put up 17 in the third quarter at Denver. The Warriors pushed their lead to as many as 24 before Minnesota came storming back in the fourth behind Jaden McDaniels and former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga.
The Timberwolves got within 116-112 and had several chances to pull within one score in the final minute, but McDaniels came up empty on a pair of 3-point tries. Curry's 16-for-16 night at the line tied his career high for free throws made without a miss, the team said.
Climbing the list again
The game was the 76th of Curry's career with at least 40 points, and the Warriors say only two active players have more. He has 15 of them since his 35th birthday, matching LeBron James for the league record at that age or older.
