Anthony Edwards battles through injury, Julius Randle posts a double-double and Minnesota rolls to a 117-93 Game 2 victory.
MINNEAPOLIS – Never mind whatever it is that’s going on with zany road-team advantage over in the Eastern Conference. It was left to Oklahoma City first, then the Minnesota Timberwolves to impose some order out West on what began in this round as homecourt chaos.
The Wolves’ 117-93 victory over Golden State Thursday at Target Center wasn’t as bloated as what the Thunder did to Denver a night earlier. But it achieved the same thing, evening the conference semifinals series at 1-1 as the series switched cities.
Actually, Minnesota’s situation was a little more dire than OKC’s. Had the Wolves failed to beat the Warriors without Stephen Curry – after losing Game 1 despite a hamstring injury prematurely ending Curry’s night – even diehard fans might have winced at what likely would have come.
But that scenario (perhaps an updated version of former Wolf Jimmy Butler coming into the gym and punking the franchise again the way he notoriously did in 2018) did not happen.
Here are five takeaways from the game Minnesota didn’t dare lose, as the series shifts to San Francisco beginning with Game 3 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
1. Wolves felt the urgency and responded
Everything has been fast-tracked in this series. First, the opposing coaches began lobbying the officials for calls after just one game. And Minnesota was already feeling must-win urgency in Game 2.
To their credit, the Wolves met the challenge. They scored the game’s first 13 points, led 20-5 deep in the opening quarter, and, by that time, had held Golden State to 2-for-12 shooting (1-for-8 on 3s) and even 0-for-2 from the foul line.
Not having Curry on the court for a defense is like not having vegetables on your plate when you’re 12.
The Wolves went wire-to-wire with the lead, pumping it to 22 in the second quarter and 25 near the end. Julius Randle was their pillar, with 24 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Jaden McDaniels was a two-way star, helping pester Butler into just 17 points on a night the Warriors needed way more from the “Playoff” guy. McDaniels scored 16 points himself and added three steals and three blocks.
The Wolves sagged in the third quarter, getting sloppy with the ball as their lead got chiseled to 62-55 at 6:57. But a pair of 3-pointers and the Warriors’ intermittent offense pushed the margin back into double figures.
2. Kerr throws players at wall, 2 of ’em stick
Stephen Curry's hamstring injury has caused cascading effects on the Warriors rotation, and the Wolves take advantage in Game 2.
Losing Curry is like snagging a fancy sweater – things can unravel fast. He is the hub and the focus of Golden State’s offense, a player whose standard rest within games is challenging enough to cover for. Losing him for long stretches, whole games, or, in this case, for at least a week to his hamstring injury requires serious triage.
“Part of the game plan coming in was to play a lot of people, and we did,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We have to figure out what we’re going to be able to do in this series without Steph. We gave a lot of people a lot of chances, and some guys really stepped up.”
Two in particular: Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Jackson-Davis is a deep reserve big man who hit all six of his shots, clogged the middle defensively and scored 15 points. Kuminga, 22, is a thoroughbred athlete and long seen as part of Golden State’s future. Wrapping his fourth NBA season, he fell out of the rotation in April, a negative heading into restricted free agency. Kuminga scored a team-high 18 off the bench.
“We’ve got to figure out rotations and who we start, but they’re going to be a part of it,” Kerr said after his personnel experiment. “We’ve got to find some better ways to score.”
3. Edwards takes licking, keeps ticking
For several uneasy minutes to close the first half, it looked like this might turn into a series of chess – as in, key pieces taken off the board for both sides. Midway through the second quarter, Edwards hit the floor and had his left ankle stepped on by Golden State’s Jackson-Davis.
As the action shifted to the other end, Edwards stayed down. Coach Chris Finch called a timeout, and his star shooting guard had to be helped to the locker room, where he stayed through halftime.
“This one I was really worried about,” said Finch, when asked about Edwards’ knack of bouncing back from injuries within games. “I was planning on not seeing him for the rest of the game, to be honest with you.”
Edwards did come back, though. He looked shaky in the third, but scored 10 in the fourth. It wasn’t the showtime that folks had expected, but he was moving all right. He has 48 hours for treatment before Game 3 and, remember, he’s a fast-healing 23-year-old.
“One thing about Ant is he’s not gonna sit out,” teammate Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “He’s got to be damn near dead.”
4. Draymond infractions inch toward danger zone
Warriors center Draymond Green has positioned himself on the cusp of potential suspension, picking up yet another technical foul with 8:46 to play in the second quarter.
Green had the ball, with Minnesota’s Naz Reid guarding him from behind, when Reid reached and fouled. Green flailed his arms in a way that banged Reid in the head.
Referee’s verdict: Foul on Reid, dead-ball technical on Green. At which point, Green went ballistic. But the game moved on, and Green now sits within two technical-foul points of a 1-game exile.
“He’s going to have to be careful now. We need him,” Kerr said.
5. Minnesota regresses from mean history
The Wolves had set a new NBA low for 3-point accuracy after Game 1. Combined with their 7-for-47 work in the clincher over the Lakers last week, Minnesota’s 5-for-29 in Game 1 Tuesday set an NBA low for consecutive playoff performances: 12-for-76, just 15.7%.
This time, with better shot selection and floor spacing, they took 37 and hit 16, a robust 43.2%. At 32.1% for the postseason, they still have work to do to approach their 37.7% accuracy of the regular season, which ranked fourth.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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