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MINNEAPOLIS — The Warriors’ team plane landed here on Saturday night, leaving players, coaches and staffers rushing to a team-sanctioned dinner. But before that happened, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia wanted to get away.

Pachulia needed an outlet to unleash his frustrations stemmed from a fluctuating role and a scoreless performance in six minutes on Friday in Portland. Pachulia also hoped to keep his conditioning sharp. So, a late-night workout seemed like the perfect solution for both issues.

“It’s tough when you don’t know if you’re going to play or when you’re going to play. But keeping the consistency and keeping in shape is important,” Pachulia said. “You have to keep your mind in it.”

And as a result, Pachulia looked like an entirely different player in the Warriors’ 109-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Pachulia recorded his first double double of the season with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. After missing his two lone field-goal attempts in six minutes against Portland, Pachulia offered a mix of mid-range jumpers, putbacks and even a reverse layup against Minnesota. As usual, Pachulia became dependable with his screen setting and defense.

“It didn’t shock me. Zaza is so professional,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I know things haven’t gone his way the last couple of weeks. But he’s been working every single day.”

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The adversity started for Pachulia following the All-Star break when Kerr started JaVale McGee in place of Pachulia in hopes for the Warriors to have better starts. The adversity continued week when Pachulia sat last Tuesday against Brooklyn because of a dreaded coach’s decision for matchup purposes. And then another turn took when Pachulia struggled on Friday against Portland, a six-minute stretch that entailed defensive struggles against Ed Davis and taking a forced shot instead of passing to an open Klay Thompson.

On Sunday in Minnesota? Pachulia showed a completely different identity.

The Warriors trailed, 24-15, with 3:47 left in the first quarter partly because of McGee’s defensive struggles. When Kerr inserted Pachulia and Kevon Looney for McGee and Draymond Green, Pachulia immediately played efficiently and provided what Warriors forward Kevin Durant called a “huge spark off the bench.”

Pachulia drained a 12-foot jumper. He set up Durant for an open 3-pointer. On another play, Pachulia instructed Nick Young to cut to the wing, passed to Thompson on a dribble handoff and then screened for Thompson for an open look. On other plays, Pachulia banked in a shot, sank a jumper at the free-throw line and tipped in a Durant miss. Pachulia even converted on a reverse layup and drew a foul before also finishing with a left hook.

“I just played the game,” Pachulia said.

And Pachulia played the game well partly because he cleared his mind and sharpened his focus with a late workout on Saturday night.

“It’s tough. It’s definitely not easy. But you have to be professional and be mindful and be patient. Those are things you can control and things that are in your hands,” Pachulia said. “It’s in your hands no matter what anybody says from the outside, good or bad. You’re the one who makes decisions. You’re the one who is controlling a lot of things.”