The Warriors lose four more players to injury as the slide continues

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors lost four more players to injury on Friday night and also lost their fourth straight game, 127-117 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, to continue their tumble in the Western Conference standings.

Veteran forward Draymond Green was scratched 30 minutes before tipoff due to lower back pain. Veteran center Al Horford left after five minutes with right calf tightness. Veteran guard Seth Curry limped into the locker room in the second quarter due to soreness in his left adductor muscle. Quentin Post, a second-year center, sprained his left ankle.

“We’re going through it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We were as beaten as any team I can ever remember.”

The Warriors have been missing their best player for over a month. Jimmy Butler injured his cruciate ligament in early January and will miss the season. Stephen Curry has been sidelined since January 30 with an ongoing right knee issue.

Stephen Curry missed his 16th straight game on Friday night, and the Warriors went 5-11 in that period to fall to 32-34, two games behind the Los Angeles Clippers (winners of four in a row) for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Green’s back problem does not appear to be serious. He was seen in the locker room after Friday’s game and appeared to be moving well. There has been no official word on the severity of the injuries to Post’s ankle or Seth Curry’s muscle. Kerr described Horford’s calf injury as a “strain” and indicated an expectation that he would miss time.

“With the calf, we won’t be in a rush to get him back,” Kerr said.

This latest wave of injuries comes at an unfortunate time for the Warriors. The team will begin a six-game road trip on Sunday night in New York against the Knicks 43-25 and will also make stops in Boston, Detroit and Atlanta, putting them at high risk of falling below the Portland Trail Blazers (32-35) in the 10th seed.

Recently acquired center Kristaps Porzingis has been a small bright spot for the Warriors. In his fourth game with the franchise, he upped his workload to 22 minutes and scored 20 points, saying afterward that he was making progress with his recent health issues.

But the Warriors were severely short-handed without half of their rotation, down 25 points and never getting closer than nine during a lackluster second-half comeback.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards appeared questionable earlier in the day with right knee soreness and admitted there was some doubt he would play. But he got the go-ahead shot an hour before kickoff and proceeded to score 42 points, letting Stephen Curry know in front of the Warriors bench after one corner 3.

“This is my son,” Edwards said. “I love Steve. I love everything about him. For me, he’s the greatest goalkeeper. I love playing against him. If he’s not playing, talk to him a little bit.”

Edwards grabbed his right knee near the end of the game, but looked fine after the game, participating in a drill outside the visiting locker room while wearing a sleeve on his right leg.

“I’m fine,” Edwards said.