Steve Kerr dismissed the notion that Stephen Curry’s extended second-half rest was the cause of the Golden State Warriors’ 114-110 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
“We can’t expect to ride Steph game after game after game,” Kerr told reporters, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. “We’ve been putting the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years.
“We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes. … If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is the difference between a win and a loss, I absolutely don’t believe that. “Okay with that. We’re trying to win the game. And we’re also trying to keep it fresh.
Curry, who was averaging 32.7 minutes before Sunday, played just under 30 minutes against Minnesota. He didn’t make his first appearance in the fourth quarter until the Timberwolves led 97-89 with 6:54 left. It was the first time the 36-year-old returned to the court since giving way to Chris Paul at 4:07 of the third period after playing the entire beginning of the game.
The Warriors, who led after each of the first three quarters, were outscored 13-11 with Curry on the bench to finish the third. The Timberwolves then opened the fourth with two threes in the first minute as part of a 12-5 run, giving them their first lead of the game since 14-13 in the first half.
“I played the whole fourth quarter against (the) Indiana (Pacers) and it didn’t work, it didn’t work (against Minnesota),” Curry said of the team that was trying to rest the 10-time All-Star. late. The Warriors lost 123-111 to the Pacers on Friday. “We have to find somewhere in the middle.”
He added: “The situation will define itself in real time. Every game counts as we get closer to the other end of the table that we never thought we would be in. No one will hold up the white flag and will say we’re mailing it in. If that means playing more minutes, I’ll be willing to do that.
Sunday’s loss dropped Golden State to 36-34 on the season as the Warriors try to hold on to the final play-in spot in the West. However, only one game separates them from the Houston Rockets, who have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 12.
