Timberwolves top Warriors 119-114 in overtime thriller; Naz Reid's massive dunk rocks Target Center

Naz Reid wouldn't be denied.

Even after missing multiple shots late in regulation and in overtime, Reid's confidence never waivered. He persisted, kept shooting, and finally, the ball bounced his way at the most important moment.

Reid rebounded his own miss with time winding down in overtime, and took to the basket for a thunderous slam that was an exclamation point in a determined, hard-fought 119-114 Wolves overtime victory over the Warriors.

"He dunked the hell out of it," Anthony Edwards said.

Reid's 24-point, 13-rebound game in the absence of Rudy Gobert, who was out because of lingering right groin soreness, personified the Wolves' effort against the defending champions — not always pretty, but with enough grit and toughness to pull out a win.

"It was great, electrifying," Reid said of his dunk. "Everybody was on their feet, and that's something that we need from the fans, man. Just keep up that momentum they give us. We're all fighting, we're all in the same boat."

Reid was sacrificing his body all over the floor. Jaden McDaniels was fighting through an illness and was grabbing at his side and legs with what coach Chris Finch said might have been hamstring soreness. He did all this while still chasing around Stephen Curry (29 points) a large portion of the night. When he wasn't Austin Rivers was, and Rivers contributed 10 points along with his defense.

Rivers and McDaniels led a defensive effort that was impressive in the second half. After allowing 71 points in the first half, the Wolves gave up with 43 the rest of the night, including just four in the overtime period. It won the Wolves the game on a night they shot just 14 of 50 from three-point range and 13-for-24 from the free-throw line.

"Those guys don't get enough credit," guard D'Angelo Russell said.

Rivers agreed with that characterization that Wednesday was the Wolves' hardest-fought victory of the season.

"Those guys were limping around the court the last five, six minutes of the game," Rivers said. "That's just understanding the moment, understanding we need them."

They needed everybody. Russell brought a lifeless arena to life after the Wolves entered the fourth quarter down 11. Russell hit four fourth-quarter threes and finished 29 points. He would foul in overtime, but without Russell, the Wolves don't make their charge down the stretch, which included an 18-4 fourth-quarter run that gave the Wolves the lead.

"Not everybody has the confidence at the end of the game to make a play and to want to make the play, too," Russell said. "A lot of guys want to kind of be in the shadows with it. I'm a guy that's always wanting the ball, wanting the opportunity, no matter how big the stage is."

Russell said that as an answer to a question about why he encourages teammates so much in late-game situations. He senses players can shy away from the moment. That didn't happen Wednesday, especially with Reid. Reid took on Draymond Green, one of the best defending big men in the league, and held his own. He had nine in the fourth quarter.

"At half, coach told me I needed to lock in. He told me to go to work," Reid said. "I felt like I had the green light from there."

Upon hearing that, Kyle Anderson (nine points, 12 rebounds) began singing "Naz has the green light," in his best John Legend voice. In overtime, Edwards made up for his inefficiency (10-for-26, 29 points) the rest of the night.

He had two key buckets that extended the Wolves' lead to 117-112. Jordan Poole (18 points) cut it to three before Edwards found Reid in the corner for an open look with 12.3 seconds remaining. Reid missed it, but that didn't deter him, just as the rest of his teammates weren't deterred the rest of the night.

"When we bring it to 'em early, man, that just shows that we're not here to back down," Reid said. "We're really here to fight."