Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
The Golden State Warriors traveled to the Target Center last night to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in what many expected to be a good duel of power forwards as David Lee and Kevin Love were matched up head-to-head.
On this night, the battle lived up to the hype as both players had impressive scoring nights against each other.
Kevin Love looked like an All-Star throughout the contest, registering 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on 12-for-28 shooting from the floor. He struggled from deep, going 0-for-7 from 3-point range but was nonetheless impossible to defend. The Wolves big man made shots from midrange, on the block, off put backs and finished off after receiving passes from teammates at the basket. He was a handful as he made shots off catch and shoots, bankers and also sizing up his defender, jab stepping and then shooting and converting.
David Lee was just as productive against his counterpart, posting 31 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 13-for-25 field goal shooting. Lee’s production may seem awfully similar to Love’s but his game was much more different. There were occasions in which he created offense for himself, but for the most part his points came off post ups where he was able to get to the basket and teammates found him cutting directly to the hoop where he finished. Indeed, the former Gator is at his best when catching the ball in the lane on the move and heading straight to the basket.
And yet, the night belonged to Charles Jenkins.
Yes, Charles Jenkins.
His final line may be relatively impressive but it fails to capture just how in control he was for most of the night. He posted 19 points, four rebounds and seven assists on 8-for-13 shooting; but more than anything he took the bull by the horns.
With the Dubs down double digits at halftime, they started out the third quarter showing more energy and enthusiasm and took it to the Wolves. They would go on to post 38 points on 16-for-27 shooting in the third quarter to take a 77-71 lead heading into the fourth.
Klay Thompson came out shooting and making shots after halftime and the Dubs kept finding him as he went 4-for-5 in the quarter. What may have been lost on most was that Jenkins was the one orchestrating the offense to perfection for the Warriors. He kept setting up Lee and Thompson for good looks and when the defense cheated towards them and dared him to create offense, he obliged. He produced eight points and three assists in the quarter but how long would the magic last?
The rest of the game apparently.
After getting burned by David Lee’s 11 points in the third quarter, the Wolves decided to stay at home on him when his teammates attempted to drive the ball. Consequently, other Warriors got in on the action and helped the Dubs score 20 points in the final period.
Minnesota battled back and tied the game late with a little over 39 seconds left in the game. The Warriors came out of a timeout running an interesting — and by interesting, I mean confusing — dribble-drive offense. Every player that touched the ball tried to drive and then kicked it out to the next man that tried doing the same.
Then they tried to feed David Lee around the elbow area but threw the pass at his leg where Jenkins was able to recover the ball. Given that he had been a perfect 2-for-2 in the quarter up until that moment, he put his head down and drove right to the hoop, jumping off the wrong foot and converting a tough left-handed lay up with three Minnesota players up around him contesting the shot. Mesh.
The basket gave the Warriors a 96-94 lead and would eventually lead them to victory.
In a season of up and downs for Charles Jenkins, this definitely counted as a positive experience and confidence builder going forward. For one night, the Warriors’ starting point guard got to play the role of hero.
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