SAN FRANCISCO – When Stephen Curry limped off the floor in the first half of Game 1 in the Warriors' Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the conventional wisdom was that he took with him his team’ best chances for a deep postseason run.
There was no doubt, however, that Golden State’s offense would suffer. And, boy, has it.
After winning Game 1 with 99 points, with Buddy Hield filling the void created by Curry’s departure, the Warriors managed 93 in a 24-point rout by the Wolves in Game 2.
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SIGN UP HERE It wasn’t much different Saturday, with the series shifting to Chase Center for Game 3. Golden State played one half of great defense but only one quarter of strong offense in a 102-97 loss that gives Minnesota a 2-1 series lead.
Jimmy Butler III produced a gargantuan performance, with 33 points and seven assists, along with seven rebounds but four turnovers. Jonathan Kuminga was terrific: 30 points, along with two assists and six rebounds.
The other eight Warriors combined for 34 points – on 12-of-37 shooting, including 5 of 15 beyond the arc. With Curry sidelined, Golden State’s offense too easily lapses into dry spells and late-clock shots that rarely go down.
“Jimmy obviously is creating plenty, but it's different,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It's not the same level of stretching the defense out like Steph does. So, we've got to find ways to score more, to try to generate more shots. And we'll look at the tape and figure that out.”
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The tape will reveal that after Butler’s two free throws gave the Warriors an 82-77 lead with 8:16 remaining, they didn’t make another field goal until a Hield tip-in with 2:58 left ended a 13-2 run. The Warriors got two stops during that stretch, but the Wolves got seven.
That was enough to give Minnesota a four-point lead (90-86). When the Warriors’ next six possessions yielded three points, they were trailing by eight with less than a minute remaining and the uphill battle was too much to overcome.
“Probably just didn't get the shots we wanted to get, turned the ball over a few times, didn't contest shots, didn't take the three out of the game,” Butler said. “And that was it.”
Golden State shot 7 of 20 in the fourth quarter. More astonishing was the failure to a generating a single point off seven Timberwolves’ turnovers in the fourth.
It’s natural that scoring would be harder for the Warriors without Curry. He’s peerless. Kerr has lived lavishly off a system he designed to emphasize Steph’s attributes. His absence has coaches seeking and players scrounging. The defensive rating for Game 3 was 108.2, the offensive rating 103.2.
Aside from a third quarter when the Warriors made their first 3-pointers of the game and totaled 31 points on 50-percent shooting, the Warriors were 24 of 59 (40.7 percent) from the field.
And yet, Butler was surprisingly unconcerned about the difficulty scoring.
“Scoring is never the problem,” he said. “I think 97 [points] can win in the playoffs. It's us on the other end. We've got to stop them from scoring. We have got to not turn the ball over. We've got to get back.
“I definitely think we can score with the best of them. But we have got to be able to guard with the best of them as well.”
The Timberwolves shot a pedestrian 43.9 percent from the field but loaded in the second half, scoring 62 points while shooting 55.6 percent. But their 11 turnovers after intermission gave the Warriors only four points.
Brandin Podziemski and Hield started in the backcourt, with neither making a field goal in the first half and the two combining for 19 points. Hield shot 5 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 8 from distance. Podziemski was 1 of 10 and 1 of 4, and is 14 of 47 and 8 of 30 over his last six games.
Gary Payton II was 1 of 4 from the field, as was Kevon Looney – as was Draymond Green before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
And yet, Kerr was pleased with much of what he witnessed.
“I felt good about the way the game went tonight,” he said. “We just couldn't close it out. Give them credit. They made all the plays in the fourth and [Julius] Randle and [Anthony] Edwards really got going, and we just couldn't quite overcome them once we got down.
“But we controlled much of that game, and up six or whatever it was, eight minutes to go, I liked where we were. We just couldn't finish. The formula looks good. We'll have some adjustments to make. But I like the matchup. I like what we're doing.”
There is no doubt Kerr does not like being down two games to one any more than he likes being without his best player.
Unless Kerr and assistant coach Terry Stotts can devise ways to improve the spacing that has become an abstract concept, half-court possessions will be a struggle.
And unless a few more men on the roster can squeeze out more scoring, no matter how well the defense performs, this series will be a labor likely ending in despair.