Takeaways from Warriors' Loss to T-Wolves: Losing Blueprint Strikes Again

Donte DiVincenzo had eight points in the final 108 seconds of the game as the Minnesota Timberwolves used a 13-3 closing run to beat the Warriors 127-120 on Friday.

It was all the more impressive that the Wolves (16-9) pulled out the road victory without superstar Anthony Edwards, who was out with a foot injury.

Stephen Curry had 39 points in his return from a five-game absence due to a quad injury, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors (13-13).

Julius Randle led the Wolves with 27 points, while Rudy Gobert had 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from Friday's game.

Paint-Points Discrepancy, Turnovers Doom Warriors Again

The Warriors lost the points in the paint battle 66-44. They are now last in the league in PITP, as they score just 41.6 per game, but they also allow 51.5 PITP per game for a discrepancy of minus-9.9. Only the Brooklyn Nets have a worse paint-points discrepancy.

It's not a shock the Warriors struggled on Friday. They were without Draymond Green. They played their tallest player, 7-footer Quinten Post, a season-high 33 minutes to try to combat the Wolves' size.

It didn't matter, as Rudy Gobert had 12 points in the fourth quarter on four dunks, one alley-oop layup and one tip-in.

Though the Warriors need to find a way to not lose the paint battle that badly, it's at least somewhat forgivable considering Minnesota's huge frontcourt that includes Gobert, Randle and Naz Reid. What is not forgivable is playing small the whole game and still losing the turnover battle.

Golden State had 13 turnovers, feeding Minnesota for 18 fast-break points. The Wolves had just 10 turnovers, and that helped limit the Warriors to just 12 fast-break points.

It's simply not a recipe for success to lose the paint battle (Minnesota also outrebounded Golden State 44-42) and the turnover battle, and yet the Warriors are doing that repeatedly.

Spencer's Rough Second Half Could Mean Minutes Reduction for Next Game

This is admittedly harsh. Pat Spencer played four great games in a row, so he shouldn't be relegated to the end of the bench due to one bad half.

But perhaps he was overexposed on Friday.

Spencer was a plus-four in the first half, but in his starting stint with Curry in the third quarter, he was a minus-eight.

He checked back in for the start of the fourth quarter after the Warriors took a three-point lead, and Golden State was minus-10 in his minutes.

In all, he scored just three points and was a minus-18 in the second half.

Entering Friday, the Spencer-Jimmy Butler minutes had been dominant, so Steve Kerr shouldn't overreact to the fourth-quarter stint going wrong. But perhaps playing Spencer alongside Curry was an experiment not worth trying again.

Steph Looks Rejuvenated in Return

The silver lining from another bad loss is that Curry looked healthy and rested in his return.

Remember, the last time we saw him, he had just 14 points and seven turnovers in a physically taxing loss to the Rockets.

Now, Curry looks ready to wreak havoc on the NBA.

Curry had 39 points in 32 minutes. He responded to Minnesota's 17-0 fourth-quarter run with a layup, a three, an assist, another three and then another three to give the Warriors a brief lead.

The Warriors have a key three-game stretch coming up that includes an opportunity for revenge against the Trail Blazers and two games against the Suns, the team directly ahead of them in the standings. Expect Curry to be at his best.