Matt Steinmetz

Sometimes figuring out why one team won and why one team lost doesn’t take a lot of thought. Which was the case in the Warriors’ 121-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors made shots from beyond the arc and the Timberwolves didn’t. Simple as that. And nobody made more than Klay Thompson, who finished with seven 3-pointers and a 41-point evening. The Warriors went 14-for-32 from beyond the arc (43.8 percent), which doesn’t sound too crazy if you’re familiar with them. But they buried 14 of their first 24 3-pointers, which took out any drama from the final 18 minutes.

Meanwhile the Timberwolves went 4-for-19 from beyond the arc.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP” FROM GOLDEN STATE’S WIN OVER T-WOLVES.

It was the Warriors’ 12th consecutive win, a streak which interestingly enough began after a March 11 loss to the Spurs in San Antonio when the Warriors rested four players: Stephen Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. Speaking of the Spurs, they remained 3.5 games in back of the Warriors in the battle for the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

This is the second 12-game winning streak of the season for the Warriors — though all of the wins on the current streak have come without injured forward Kevin Durant. The Warriors have been playing without Durant since Feb. 28, when he injured his left knee in a game against the Wizards.

The Warriors are expecting Durant to return for Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle.

The Warriors put this one away in the third quarter, like they’ve put so many games away in the third quarter. Golden State outscored the Timberwolves 36-26 in that quarter and are now a plus-446 in third quarters this season.

No. 2 is San Antonio, which is plus-223 and the Rockets are third at plus-190. No other team is plus-100.

The Warriors’ third-quarter highlight came courtesy of Stephen Curry, who buried consecutive 3-pointers to give Golden State a 94-75 lead with 4:29 remaining. Curry finished with 19 points and nine assists.

At that point in the game, the Warriors were shooting 61.4 percent from the field and 56.5 percent from 3-point range. Golden State finished the game shooting 52.4 percent.

It was the Warriors’ 204th victory over the past three regular seasons, which matches the Chicago Bulls’ mark from 1995-96 to 1997-98 for most regular-season wins in a three-season span.

It would be a little bit of an understatement to say that Stephen Curry started well in the Warriors’ 139-115 victory over the Washington Wizards at Oracle on Sunday. “Well” doesn’t do justice to Curry, who was in on all of the Warriors’ first 23 points.

Yep, Curry nailed four three pointers and handed out five assists in the game’s first seven-plus minutes, helping to get the Warriors — and their fans — into the game. Curry slowed down a little bit, but he still finished the first half with 22 points and six assists, and he buried 6-of-9 3-pointers. Despite hanging in for much of the first half, the Wizards still found themselves down 67-57 at halftime.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ FROM GOLDEN STATE’S 139-115 WIN OVER WASHINGTON.

The only downside to the night for the Warriors was the way it ended — with Brandon Jennings committing a flagrant foul against JaVale McGee, who was attempting a 3-point shot late in the game … but with the shot clock still in play.

That attempt came on the heels of the Warriors spoon-feeding Draymond Green on multiple possessions in order to try to get him a triple double, which they eventually did. But Jennings said he felt the Warriors were being disrespectful, and even Steve Kerr didn’t completely disagree.

Kerr apologized for McGee’s shot and acknowledged that he was “uncomfortable” with it. Still that couldn’t overshadow Curry’s performance.

Curry’s third quarter wasn’t quite as good as his first, though he did have 15 points, while backcourt mate Klay Thompson had 12. By that time, the Warriors led 106-88. Curry’s line was a thing of beauty. He had 42 points in just 35 minutes, going 15-for-22 from the field, including 9-for-14 from beyond the arc. He had eight assists and one lonely turnover.

Curry hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter to give him 300 for the season. He is the only player in NBA history with 300-plus 3-pointers in a single season. He has now done so twice. Last year Curry finished the season with 402 3-pointers, a league record.

The Warriors, of course, have put together this 11-game winning streak without the services of Kevin Durant, who has an injured left leg. Durant continues to make progress and the issue isn’t if he’ll return, it’s when.

Though the Warriors have ruled him out for the next two games — vs. Minnesota and at Phoenix — it is likely he’ll return for the last game or so before the Warriors head into the postseason.

Draymond Green finished with a triple double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out 13 assists … never mind the Warriors purposely were feeding him for a bucket because he was two points short — until he buried a 3-pointer with under a minute.

Had a good, solid 20-plus minute interview with Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Travis Schlenk during the “NBA This Week.” Schlenk has been around since the Mike Montgomery era, and he has methodically moved up the organizational chart and is now one of the team’s important decision-makers.

LINK TO INTERVIEW WITH WARRIORS ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER TRAVIS SCHLENK.

We had a chance to ask Schlenk about a variety of topics, including:

–The emergence of Draymond Green as one of the best players in the NBA. Schlenk was largely responsible for the decision to draft Green, and we asked him what he saw in the former Michigan State forward.

Schlenk said that while the Warriors never expected Green to be this impactful, they did like his ability to pass, the fact he played four years in college and his competitiveness. But Schlenk went into more detail about Green and his game.

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