By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A teammate of Stephen Curry at the Golden State Warriors during his 2022-23 journey, Donte DiVincenzo punished his former side with a clutch three-pointer, sending the Minnesota Timberwolves to a huge win in Chase Center.
“Even at the start of the night, I didn’t shoot the ball well at all, but I couldn’t care less, if I’m being honest with you. I think my year here kind of changed my entire mindset, playing with that dude over there, number 30, It just changed my mindset on my misses, my mindset on my approach, and I want the big shot at the end of the game,” the 28-year-old Italian-American shooting guard revisited his season with the Warriors and being mentored by Curry during a postgame media session on Friday.
DiVincenzo also praised his current teammate, Rudy Gobert.
“He played how we expect Rudy to play every single night, and he knows that. And he was huge for us, and I think the biggest thing for us is him exploding to the rim and just drawing fouls, dunking on people,” he said about the 33-year-old French center contributing a double-double, including several emphatic dunks.
“I just tried to make my presence felt on both ends. And I felt like my teammates did a great job finding me, after the drive, and I just had to finish the plays,” said Gobert.
On the losing end of a crazy back-and-forth battle, Curry returned to action after sitting out the previous five games of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season due to injury with 39 points.
“Donte hits the big three in the corner and kind of sealed it for them. Rudy made a lot of plays, finishing scrambled possessions. Even without Ant, you understand they know who they are, and they have a certain look that we struggled with,” he described the losing effort, focusing on the European standouts of the visitors.
Talking about a difficult assignment opposite Gobert and the remaining frontline, Dutch Quinten Post shared his opinion on the demanding matchups.
“They play with a lot of size on the floor. They made it hard on us, rebounding and playing without fouling. I thought we put them on the line way too much. So, it was a tough challenge, for sure,” said Steve Kerr’s starting center.
Both sides resume action on Sunday, with the Timberwolves hosting the Sacramento Kings in Target Center and the Warriors visiting the Portland Trail Blazers in Moda Center.