The Golden State Warriors came out like bandits to open the third quarter of Game 2 on Thursday, pulling to within seven of the Timberwolves early in the frame at Target Center.
Then Minnesota proceeded to respond with a massive run to reclaim a 20-point advantage by quarter’s end. It should come as no surprise that success came against Golden State’s bench.
The Timberwolves obliterated Golden State’s thinned out second unit en route to a 117-93 victory to even the Western Conference semifinals series at 1-1. Game 3 is at 7:30 p.m. Central on Saturday in San Francisco.
“We had three or four real sloppy turnovers, and then it got loose on the other end, got soft there with some of our communication and our switches,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of the start of the third quarter. “Guys were frustrated, but we re-focused pretty quickly.”
Minnesota came out with its hair on fire on Thursday, jumping out to an immediate 13-0 advantage. From there, much of the Wolves’ damage was done against the likes of reserves Pat Spencer and Moses Moody. Warriors coach Steve Kerr played all 14 of his healthy bodies in the first half of Game 2 as he looked for answers as to how Golden State can put together 48 minutes without the axis of its offense in Stephen Curry, who will miss at least a week with a hamstring injury.
It wasn’t a total waste of time, as Kerr found a bunch of options that didn’t work.
There was a point in the fourth quarter Thursday in which the Warriors trailed by 15 in a game in which it had lost Spencer’s 10 minutes by 17 points. Golden State won Brandin Podziemski’s 33 minutes on Thursday. It lost the 15 he didn’t play by 25.
Minnesota entered the series with a significant depth advantage, which has only been exacerbated by Curry’s absence. Now, Golden State has to find 36-plus additional minutes to fill with guys stepping into roles they aren’t meant to fill.
The Wolves did an excellent job making the Warriors pay for that Thursday.
Julius Randle flirted with a triple-double, tallying 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
“Great all-around game from him, just what we needed,” Finch said.
Anthony Edwards — who briefly left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, only to return to open the second half — tacked on 20 points and nine rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker emerged from a shooting slump to drill four 3-pointers as Minnesota shot 43% from deep as a team.
“We were able to keep finding a rhythm,” Finch said. “I think we were able to find a rhythm tonight much better offensively.”
The Wolves’ half-court offense still struggled for large portions of the game, but it was rarely pressed as Golden State couldn’t find a way to put points on the board. Minnesota led 37-19 midway through the second quarter.
The Wolves found offensive success via the fast break (18 points), the offensive glass (16 second-chance points) and off the Warriors’ 19 turnovers (which turned into 20 points).
Golden State can’t afford to lose any of those areas, particularly not while hemorrhaging points with its second unit on the floor. With the Warriors star guard not in the current equation, Minnesota simply has far too much for the Warriors to handle.
With Curry not expected back until at least Game 5, Kerr will now have to decide if he wants to over extend his top five remaining players to take a swing at splitting Golden State’s two upcoming home games.
If he chooses to do so, Minnesota’s challenge will be to win anyway.
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