The Warriors appeared to control the pace against the Timberwolves on Wednesday, but a late-game collapse dropped them to 119-114 in overtime.
Golden State led by 14 points in the fourth quarter, but then produced several uncharacteristic turnovers that allowed the Timberwolves to sneak up on the competition.
“I thought we had control of the game and then I thought we just kind of gift-wrapped it. Not to take anything away from Minnesota. They were great,” he said.
“They took advantage of our mistakes and our lack of execution, D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) got hot and guys made big shots. But we missed box-outs, we threw the ball away, we took really difficult shots. So everything we had done to that point to have control of the game we stopped doing, so we got what we deserved.” (Read Also: NBA All-Star voting results from 2023: Everything about Roasters Lists and Schedules)
The Warriors had only five turnovers in the first half but stole the ball nine times in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Timberwolves made them pay, turning 17 turnovers into 24 points and 15 more attempted field goals.
The Warriors are 13-14 in clutch games this season, according to NBA.com stats. And they’re 2-15 in their last 17 overtime contests.
“If you want to win, especially on the road, you have to execute and we’ve probably lost five to six games like this on the road this year just because of a lack of execution,” Kerr added.
“We’re not good enough to win without executing. We might have been a few years ago; we’re not good enough now to win without executing in the fourth quarter on the road.”
A familiar face inflicted the damage as Russell caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 consecutive points against his former squad.
He scored 29 points on 11-of-23 shots (7-of-17 from 3-point range). Anthony Edwards had 27 points and Nas Reid had 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Seven Warriors scored in double figures, but only Stephen Curry surpassed his 20 points with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Warriors went 26-25 this season. They trail the sixth-ranked Timberwolves (28-26) in the Western Conference by half a game.
