Warriors coach defends limiting star’s minutes

Kerr subbed out Curry with 4:07 left in the third quarter and the Warriors leading 70-65. By the time he came back in more than nine minutes later, Minnesota was up 97-89.

Curry made an impact, finding teammates for dunks and layups to close the gap before tying the game with a three-pointer with 3:28 left. 

But even with Curry scoring nine points down the stretch, Golden State fell, 114-110.

Kerr told reporters he didn’t regret leaving Curry on the bench so long.

“We can’t just expect to ride Steph game after game after game,” Kerr said. “We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes. We’ve got five games in seven days on this road trip.”

It was a tough loss for Kerr, who could have brought Curry back in with the Warriors down four when he called timeout with 8:54 to go. Instead he waited two more minutes, with the Timberwolves stretching their lead to eight.

That four-point difference was the winning margin. Kerr is clearly worried about Curry’s body holding up, but he also has to worry about the Warriors’ playoff chances holding up. Their third loss in four games left them just one game ahead of the surging Houston Rockets.

Obviously the Warriors need to play better with Steph sitting —they were -10 in the 19 minutes he sat. But it’s looking like if he sits too much, he’ll have plenty of time to rest in three weeks, because the Warriors season will be over.