Wolves, Warriors meet after both were bludgeoned by a combined 77 points

The Warriors trailed by as many as 57 points Thursday night while the Wolves fell into a 36-point hole.

Dec 8, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) is fouled and reacts on the ground in the second period against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

NBA scriptwriters did a phenomenal job by setting up the Dec. 21 date between the Timberwolves and Warriors just two days after both teams were annihilated.

While the Timberwolves were getting hammered at home by Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks on Thursday night, the Warriors were in Memphis being mauled by the Grizzlies.

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 36 points and lost by 27. Golden State trailed by as many as 57 points and lost by 51. It was horrific basketball by two teams that are going the same direction (backwards) by different modes of transportation.

Minnesota's high-end defense didn't show up against KAT and the Knicks, but a consistently inefficient offense was on full display for a 12th consecutive game. It's an ugly stretch in which the Wolves have averaged 104.8 points per game. They haven't scored 120 in a game since Nov. 17 and their 106.8 offensive rating since then ranks 26th in the league.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have lost nine of 11 after starting the season 12-3. Their defense has disappeared this week, giving up 143 points to Dallas on Sunday and then getting three days of practice to work out the kinks only to give up 144 to Memphis.

Golden State's offensive rating in the past 11 games is 106.0, which ranks 27th in the NBA. The Warriors' 115.5 defensive rating ranks 22nd.

Bottom line: Saturday's 7:10 p.m. CT tip at Target Center should be amazing because neither one of these teams is functioning properly at the moment. That means anything could happen, and that's NBA drama at its best.