Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors gave fans in China a crowd-pleasing taste of their up-tempo, free-flowing ball movement and explosive scoring.
Jimmy Butler and the re-tooled Timberwolves played a more complete game, however, and moved in front for good in the fourth quarter in Shenzhen.
“We played well for about a quarter and a half and then we started getting careless with the ball,” said Kerr, who suggested his team should have led by 15 at halftime, when Golden State instead led by just five at 55-50.
“We got lazy,” Kerr added.
Stephen Curry was called for five fouls in about 24 minutes on the court, but still managed to score 14 points.
“Hopefully I can get rid of all the fouls in the preseason. That’s what the preseason’s for,” Curry said.
Durant was the most efficient player on the court, hitting an array of mid-range jumpers as the Warriors held the lead for the first three quarters.
Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau sounded pleased by his team’s progression during the game and stressed the urgency of his new lineup, featuring the addition of Butler, getting in synch before the regular season opens this month.
“The second half we played better, moved the ball better, ran better plays,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously with a shortened preseason — we’re only playing three games — we have to move things along a lot quicker.”
TIMBERWOLVES 111, WARRIORS 97
Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 16 points in 26 minutes apiece for the Timberwolves. Durant scored 20 points in 25 minutes to lead Golden State.
MINNESOTA: Power forward Taj Gibson is looking more with his new team after being reunited with Thibodeau, his old Chicago Bulls coach. Gibson scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while showing the ability to become more of a “stretch four” in Thibodeau’s system. ... Andrew Wiggins added 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the field.
GOLDEN STATE: Curry hit three of six from 3-point range, as did Klay Thompson, who finished with 13 points in 24 minutes.
MAGIC 112,
MAVERICKS 89
Aaron Gordon had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic added 14 points in Orlando’s home preseason debut. Dallas’ Dennis Smith, the No. 9 overall pick in the June’ draft scored all 13 of his team-high points in the first half on a night when the Mavericks left most of their starters and veterans at home.
DALLAS: The Mavericks brought a skeleton crew into Amway Center with several of the veterans and coach Rick Carlisle not making the trip on a preseason back-to-back.
ORLANDO: Rookie first-round draft pick Jonathan Isaac struggled in his home debut, converting just one of five from the field to finish with just two points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes. Recent Hall of Fame inductee and former Magic star Tracy McGrady sat courtside.
NETS 107, HEAT 88
Jeremy Lin scored 16 points and the Nets outrebounded the Heat 62-37 in their second straight preseason victory.
Tyler Johnson had 21 points and nine rebounds for Miami, while Hassan Whiteside added 19 points and nine boards.
HEAT: The Heat were a dismal 4 for 28 (14 percent) from 3-point range.
NETS: D’Angelo Russell scored nine points, going 4 for 14 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point range. ... Reserve Sean Kilpatrick had 14 points and seven rebounds.
TRAIL BLAZERS 106, RAPTORS 101
Damian Lillard led Portland with 16 points and eight assists in 26 minutes and CJ McCollum added 15 points. Kyle Lowry paced visiting Toronto with 23 points and had six assists in 25 minutes.
TORONTO: DeMar DeRozan and C.J. Miles did not play. ... Starting power forward Serge Ibaka struggled, scoring just two points on one of five shooting from the field and an 0-for-3 showing from 3-point range, while also adding four rebounds in 20 minutes.
PORTLAND: Rookie power forward Caleb Swanigan impressed with an active night with six points, eight rebounds and six assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
