Minnesota Timberwolves overpower Golden State Warriors to level NBA play-off series at 1-1

LOS ANGELES – The Minnesota Timberwolves exploited the injury absence of Stephen Curry to defeat the Golden State Warriors 117-93 and level their National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference semi-final series on May 8.

A fired-up Timberwolves line-up, who had been stunned by the Warriors in Game 1 on May 6, were always in control as they powered to a wire-to-wire victory in Minneapolis that squares the series at 1-1.

Julius Randle led the scoring for Minnesota with 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Edwards said an improved defensive effort led to Minnesota’s win after a dismal offensive display in their Game 1 loss.

“We watched the film yesterday and we saw it wasn’t just that we didn’t make our shots – it was more so our defensive effort and intensity. We didn’t bring it. So we knew we had to bring it today,” Edwards said.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added an eye-catching 20 points off the bench, including four three-pointers, on a night when five Timberwolves players finished in double figures. Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors scoring with 18 points from the bench, Jimmy Butler ending with 17.

With Golden State taking to the floor without Curry, who suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1, Minnesota set the tone early in the first quarter, racing into a hefty 25-7 lead that left the Warriors chasing the game.

Said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch: “We looked a lot more like ourselves. Obviously, the start was great for us, that’s what we needed to set the tone. I thought we were pretty consistent with everything other than the beginning of the second half... It was exactly the response that we needed.”

Minnesota were given a scare when Edwards limped off with an ankle problem in the second quarter, but the Timberwolves went into half-time with a commanding 56-39 lead. He returned for the start of the third quarter, but Minnesota were rocked by an early Golden State onslaught.

Butler and Kuminga both grabbed eight points apiece in a rally that helped the Warriors slash the Timberwolves’ lead to just seven points at 62-55 with just under seven minutes remaining in the third. The Timberwolves regrouped impressively and closed the quarter with a 20-5 run to build an 85-65 lead heading into the final frame.

Without the deadly three-point scoring threat of Curry, the Warriors never looked like closing the gap and Golden State coach Steve Kerr ran up the white flag with four minutes remaining, removing his starters as Minnesota coasted home.

Kerr said his team had learnt valuable lessons on how to play without the talismanic Curry as they return to San Francisco for Game 3 on May 10. The 11-time All-Star Curry was ruled out on May 7 for at least a week.

“We’re trying to figure out what we’re gonna be able to do in this series without Steph, so we gave a lot of people a lot of chances,” Kerr said of his shifting line-up.

“I thought we made a really spirited run to get the lead down to seven, but then we just kind of lost a little bit of composure. We turned it over a couple of times, gave up a couple of threes when we lost our defensive connection.” AFP, REUTERS