Throwback Saturday. Points were at a premium.
The Minnesota Timberwolves surged ahead and took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series Saturday night with a narrow 102-97 victory in Game 3 against the shorthanded Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors were in good shape, holding on to the lead at the end of the third quarter but were unable to keep up with the Timberwolves scoring down the stretch with Steph Curry on the bench in street clothes.
Curry suffered a hamstring strain in the second quarter of Game 1, which caused him to be on the shelf for the past two games in the series. The Warriors have confirmed that Curry will be re-evaluated on Wednesday and, if feeling closer to 100%, could play in a potential Game 6. But the Warriors have to make it there first.
The Timberwolves went on a 9-0 run in the second half of the quarter to move past the Warriors.
Julius Randle produced his first career playoff triple-double with 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 36 points in the victory, 28 of them coming in the second half.
“I stunk in the first half,” Edwards told ESPN after the game. “As long as you trust the work, it will be alright.”
Embed from Getty ImagesRandle got off to a slow start, shooting 1 for 6 and missed his initial four 3-point tries before connecting six and a half minutes before halftime to give the Timberwolves a 10-point lead, 39-29 and force a Warriors timeout. He shot 10 for 23.
“We need it all. We needed everything from Julius, his hustle plays,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Sometimes he does a great job of just kind of chasing down rebounds and stuff like this. We needed it all.”
Jimmy Butler was just one of two players to score 30 points for the Warriors. Butler finished with a team-high 33 points, with seven assists and seven rebounds. Jonathan Kuminga came off the bench and scored 30 points.
“Obviously with Steph out there, he demands two to three bodies when he’s out there on the floor,” Butler said. “When he’s not, there’s no room for error. You can’t make mistakes. You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t give back all of those things. And then you’ve got to take the right shots.”
Here is a brief summary of how things broke down:
Timberwolves 21, Warriors 21
The Timberwolves led by as many as nine points in the first quarter before the Warriors closed the gap and tied the game at 21 going into the second quarter.
Anthony Edwards scored seven points for the Timberwolves. He shot 3-of-8 from the field and was 1-for-3 from the 3-point line.
Butler scored a game-high 11 points for the Warriors. Draymond Green took the only 3-point attempt for the Warriors in the frame.
Halftime: Warriors 42, Timberwolves 40
The Warriors took the lead into the locker room at halftime. The Warriors did not make a 3-pointer in the first half. It was the first time the Warriors had not made a shot from the perimeter in a single half of a playoff game in 18 years, since playing the Dallas Mavericks in the first round in 2007, according to ESPN.
Butler finished the first half with 18 points for the Warriors. Kuminga shot 5-for-7 from the field for 12 points off the bench. Green scored just two points and Buddy Hield remained scoreless.
Randle was the only member of the Timberwolves to score double-digit points in the first half with 13. Edwards scored just one point in the second quarter.
3Q: Warriors 73, Timberwolves 69
The Warriors found their mojo from downtown in the third quarter after not making one in the first half. The Warriors shot 50%, 5-for-10 from long range and entered the fourth quarter with the lead over the Timberwolves.
Butler put up 28 through the first three quarters to lead Golden State. Kuminga had 20 points.
Anthony Edwards scored 15 of his 23 points in the third quarter to keep the Timberwolves within striking distance in the game. Randle added seven points in the period.
Green was reduced to a spectator and a cheerleader after fouling in the fourth with 4:38 to play, whistled for his sixth personal trying to block a shot by Jaden McDaniels that appeared questionable on multiple replay reviews. Green trotted down the floor to the Warriors bench in frustration, then put on his warmup jacket and stood with hands on hips.
Game 4 is Monday night at the Chase Center.
