Golden State Warriors take the opening game of their NBA Western Conference, second-round playoff series against Minnesota Timberwolves despite Stephen Curry’s exit from game with a leg strain.
Buddy Hield scored 24 points as the Golden State Warriors held on for a 99-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series in Minneapolis, despite losing star Stephen Curry to an injury.
Jimmy Butler III notched a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Warriors, who won for the second time in three nights after eliminating the Houston Rockets in a seven-game, first-round series. Draymond Green finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
“Jimmy is as good as any star in the league at reading the game and controlling the tempo,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Tuesday.
Anthony Edwards missed his first 10 shots from the field but finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which appeared rusty after a five-day break between games. Naz Reid scored 19 points off the bench and Julius Randle finished with 18 points.
“It didn’t look like us at all,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “It didn’t feel like us at all.”
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Curry, 37, dropped out in the second quarter because of a left hamstring strain and did not return. He scored 13 points in 13 minutes on 5-for-9 shooting overall and 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range before his injury.
Curry appeared to sustain the injury after driving for a layup. He favoured his left leg after the shot and lifted his arm to signal to the bench that something felt wrong.
Kerr told reporters after the game that Curry would undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Wednesday. He described Curry’s status as day-to-day.
“We’re definitely game-planning for him to not be available on Thursday,” Kerr said. “We don’t know yet, but with the hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”
Minnesota trailed by as many as 23 points but pulled within single digits in the fourth quarter. A 13-2 run by the Timberwolves cut their deficit to 85-76 with 6:02 remaining.
On the next possession, Hield drilled one of his five 3-pointers to increase the Warriors’ lead back to 12 points. Butler followed with a driving jump shot to put Golden State on top 90-76 with 5:19 remaining and the Warriors maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
Golden State held a commanding 80-60 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Hield had two points at halftime but erupted for 16 in the third quarter. He made a 3-pointer as part of a 10-0 run that gave Golden State a 76-53 lead with 2:23 remaining in the quarter.
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Golden State led 44-31 at the half as Minnesota scored only 11 points in the second quarter.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is in Minneapolis on Thursday.