Warriors sputter without Steph Curry, drop Game 2 vs. Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS The Warriors ran the same sets they invariably did during Thursday s matchup with Minnesota the second match of the teams conference semifinal series There were split cuts shooters running around screens and plenty of motion overall The plays looked the same but without Steph Curry who is out with a hamstring injury greasing the wheels with all-time great shotmaking the Warriors offense sputtered Meanwhile the defense was unable to withstand Minnesota s potent shooting in a - blowout at Target Center Curry was sitting next to the coaches in a black and red hoodie due to the injury that will keep him sidelined until at least Match Even with the franchise s greatest competitor sitting in street clothes next to the coaches the Warriors stayed in the battle for two-and-a-half quarters before running out of steam With the star sidelined a mishmash of role players had to play big minutes next to Jimmy Butler who had points Jonathan Kuminga scored and revealed an ability to use his latent athleticism to create his own shot off the bounce Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with points and Anthony Edwards put in After going down - at halftime the Warriors began the third quarter on a - run with Buddy Hield and Kuminga each burying -pointers to cut the Minnesota lead to just seven with around six minutes to go But after seeing their lead trimmed to - the Wolves responded with an - run that put Minnesota back in control Minnesota led - at the end of the third quarter and salted the match away from there Things could not have started worse for Golden State After going -for- from -point land to start Contest Minnesota made its first two triples on makes by Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley as the Wolves jumped out to a - lead The Wolves finished the tournament for from long range Butler scoring five points was about all that went well for the Warriors in the first quarter which saw the Wolves lead - after the Warriors had more turnovers five than assists four and only six made field goals The second quarter was not much better even when the Wolves appeared to make a mistake When Naz Reid fouled Draymond Green the Warriors forward flailed his arms in a manner reminiscent of his play against Houston s Fred VanVleet in the first-round finale Just like in that meeting lead official Tony Brothers dinged Green with a technical foul his fifth of the postseason If he receives seven techs it mandates an automatic one-game suspension Related Articles Anthony Edwards returns to Warriors-Timberwolves Challenge after ankle injury Warriors Steph Curry shares details about hamstring injury I ve never dealt with this before Steph Curry injury history How the Warriors have fared in the playoffs without their MVP How to watch Warriors-Timberwolves Event Warriors Wolves already complaining about officiating in their playoff series Golden State was not the only association that saw its franchise member leave a competition with an injury Edwards had scored seven points in the first half when he left the encounter with an apparent left ankle injury at the mark of the second quarter After remaining in the locker room for the rest of the first half Edwards returned to a thunderous ovation to start the third quarter Edwards came back looking healthy scoring in the second half The Wolves withstood Golden State s rally and pulled away to even up the series Championship will be played at Chase Center on Saturday at p m