Timberwolves drop second straight as Curry's 44 leaves even Warriors rookie in awe

Steph Curry was so good at Target Center on Wednesday night that his own teammate admitted to stopping and watching. The Golden State guard scored a season-high 44 points in a 119-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg told reporters afterward that he was amazed, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Lendeborg said he "caught myself shaking my head, like 'wow,' a couple times."

For Minnesota, the more important number is the result. The Wolves have now lost two in a row by a combined seven points, following a 127-125 loss at Cleveland with this one, and they sit at 3-2 after opening the season with three straight wins by 22 points or more.

The damage came in a burst. According to NBC Sports Bay Area's Dalton Johnson, Curry had only four points and missed all four of his 3-point tries in the first quarter. He then scored 19 in just under nine minutes of the second quarter, making 5 of 7 from deep. He added 21 more after halftime, finishing 11 of 27 from the field, 6 of 16 from three and 16 of 16 at the free-throw line. Warriors Wire noted that Golden State took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. Minnesota cut into it late but could not finish the comeback.

The Wolves did all this without Anthony Edwards, who NBC Sports Bay Area reports could be out for up to two months. Jonathan Kuminga, facing his former team for the first time in a Minnesota uniform, led the Wolves with 20 points. He spent much of the night matched up with Lendeborg, who had 26 points and nine rebounds but also a game-high seven turnovers. Golden State was short-handed as well, playing without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, Gui Santos and Kristaps Porzingis, which makes the loss harder to explain away on Minnesota's end.

What it means for Friday against the Clippers

The Timberwolves return to Target Center on Friday, October 30, to face the LA Clippers, and the market still sees them as the clear favorite despite the two losses. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, Minnesota is favored at -257 on Novig. The best moneyline price anywhere is -240 at BetRivers. The Clippers are +245 on Novig.

The spread is close to a touchdown. Novig has Minnesota -7.5 at +108, while Pinnacle offers -7 at -105, so the venues disagree by half a point on the number itself. The total sits at 222.5 on Novig, and other venues range from 221.5 to 223.5. Sportsbook hold runs between 2.9% and 5.1% depending on the market.

Those prices assume the Wolves can keep scoring without Edwards. Through five games they have scored at least 114 points every night, so the offense has held up. What hurt them on Wednesday was defense: Golden State kept getting to the line and kept hitting from deep. A third straight loss at home, against a team the market rates well below them, would raise real questions about how long Minnesota can hold up until Edwards returns.