Minnesota walked into Chase Center without Anthony Edwards, watched Stephen Curry drop 39 in his return, and still walked out with a statement win that felt bigger than a mid-December game.
Timberwolves Outlast Warriors in Thriller
The
Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 127-120 in San Francisco, surviving a vintage
39-point performance from Stephen Curry in his first game back from a bruised left quadriceps.
The game was chaotic in the best way: it featured
27 lead changes, tied for the second-most in the NBA this season, and neither team ever really felt in control until the final seconds.
No Edwards, No Problem: Minnesota’s Balanced Attack
Minnesota pulled this off
without star guard Anthony Edwards, who missed the game with right foot soreness. That could have been a built-in excuse. Instead, the Wolves played some of their most composed offensive basketball of the season.
Key contributors for Minnesota:
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Julius Randle: 27 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
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Rudy Gobert: 24 points (11-of-13 FG), 14 rebounds
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Donte DiVincenzo: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and the dagger three
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Naz Reid: 18 points, 7 assists off the bench
Randle functioned as a
point forward, punishing mismatches and consistently collapsing the defense, while Gobert dominated the paint and the glass. Reid’s playmaking from the bench gave Minnesota a second-unit edge they absolutely needed on the road.
Curry’s Return: Brilliant but Not Enough
Curry, back after missing five games with a left quad bruise, wasted no time announcing he was fully operational again.
According to the box score:
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39 points on 14-of-28 shooting
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6 made threes- Quick start with eight of Golden State’s first 12 points
He repeatedly rescued stalled possessions and briefly seemed poised to steal the game late. Golden State
took a 118-117 lead after Curry hit a free throw with 1:37 remaining.
But after the game, Curry admitted the Warriors still lack consistency and defensive sharpness, noting that they need to “close the gaps” on both ends to turn good stretches into wins.
The Wild Fourth Quarter That Changed Everything
Minnesota flipped the game in the fourth.
- The Wolves opened the final period on a
20-7 run, building a double-digit lead with about five minutes left.
- Golden State responded with back-to-back threes from Curry and Moses Moody, trimming the deficit to 108-104 and igniting the building.
- After Curry’s free throw gave the Warriors that brief 118-117 edge, Minnesota answered with the poise of a veteran contender.
The decisive sequence:
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Rudy Gobert slammed home a
go-ahead dunk to put Minnesota back in front.
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Donte DiVincenzo then drilled a
massive three with 28 seconds left, stretching the lead to 123-118.
- The Wolves closed on a
10-2 run, calmly executing in halfcourt sets while Golden State’s offense sputtered.
Gobert was especially dominant late, scoring repeatedly at the rim and controlling the boards, with one sequence described in highlights as him being “six for six in the fourth.”
Shorthanded on Both Sides
This wasn’t a full-strength meeting on either end.
- Minnesota was without
Anthony Edwards.
- Golden State was missing
Draymond Green, whose absence continues to show up most clearly on the defensive end and in late-game organization.
Without Green, the Warriors struggled to contain pick-and-roll actions and protect the paint, and they had few answers for Gobert’s rim pressure or Randle’s physical drives.
A Playoff Echo: First Meeting Since Last Year’s Ouster
This was the
first matchup between these teams since the Timberwolves eliminated the Warriors in the second round of last season’s playoffs.
That context mattered. Minnesota played with the confidence of a group that believes it can consistently beat Golden State, home or away. For the Warriors, the loss was another reminder that the gap between their best moments and their actual record is growing.
What the Win Means for Minnesota
The Timberwolves improved to
16-9, including
8-5 on the road.
What stands out:
- They won a high-pressure game
without their best scorer.
- Their depth — Randle, DiVincenzo, Reid — carried them in crunch time.
- Gobert looked every bit the defensive and interior offensive anchor they need him to be to contend.
Next up, Minnesota
hosts the Sacramento Kings, a chance to stack another Western Conference win and firm up their place near the top of the standings.
What the Loss Signals for Golden State
Golden State dropped to
13-13, a perfectly .500 record that feels much worse when you watch how hard they have to work for wins.
The big takeaways for the Warriors:
-
Curry is back and looks elite, which is the best possible news.
- But without Green, the structure of their defense and late-game execution remains shaky.
- Their margin for error is thin: they cannot afford late-game droughts or breakdowns against top-tier Western teams.
They now head to Portland to face the
Trail Blazers, needing a clean performance to avoid slipping below .500 again.
The Bigger Picture: Two Teams on Diverging Paths
Strip away the box score, and this game felt like a snapshot of where these franchises are right now:
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Minnesota looks like an ascending contender with size, depth, and a growing sense of composure in tight games.
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Golden State still has Curry’s brilliance, but the supporting structure is fragile — especially on defense and in non-Curry minutes.
If these two meet again in the postseason, this night will likely be remembered as the moment Minnesota began to own this matchup, even in Curry’s house and even when they were shorthanded.
Sources
1. Timberwolves 127-120 Warriors (Dec 12, 2025) Game Recap - ESPN
2. Final 3:47 WILD ENDING Timberwolves at Warriors - YouTube
3. Golden State Warriors vs Minnesota Timberwolves Full Game ...
4. Stephen Curry Recaps Warriors Loss vs Timberwolves | Dec. 12, 2025
