How did Warriors win game 1 after Steph Curry? With depth and toughness

Minneapolis – A strange scene developed at the beginning of the second quarter of the Golden State Warrior 'Guty Game 1 Road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday evening.

Right of eight hours after a survival victory of elimination in Houston, about 30 hours after landing in the city directly from Texas, the tired Warriors before a significant four-day calm and preparatory disadvantage at third place from Draymond Green at 30 to 20.

Green roared on the Minnesota bank, as Timberwolves trainer Chris Finch Timeout called. Warriors' bank hurried to celebrate its loud arrival in this series of the second round, and showed the omphe and energy that they promised despite the condensed schedule. But when Green turned to celebrate the climb with Curry, he saw how his star tip hobbled into the changing room. Curry reached for his thigh.

“I didn't see that he grabbed his knee tendon,” said Green. “I only saw how he limp a bit. I went over to tell him a good pass and asked him:” You are good? “He said,” I'll be back. “So we didn't know for a long time.

General Manager Mike Dunleavy followed Curry backwards and came out 10 minutes later. On the way back to the bank, the news delivered to Green. Left -wing. Curry was ready for the night. He will get an MRI on Thursday, but the warriors are preparing to be in game 2 without being and probably beyond. He had a pronounced linking leaves the arena.

“Absolutely crushed,” said Steve Kerr about Curry's mood at halftime.

Before the stress, game 1 felt like a free swing for Warriors, a chance without pressure to steal a street game from the rested Timberwolves. But after the outcome of Curry, the pressure and urgency increased. A 10-point lead quickly fell to 20. If you find a way to survive long enough in this series so that curry heals and returned, it found it absolutely necessary that you found a way to get game 1.

“He did a great job to build us up a comfortable lead,” said Green. “Then Robin became Batman, and what is Buddy (Hield)? Alfred was in Robin.”

Jimmy Butler created enough offensive in the fourth quarter to pull the Golden State over the finish line. Hield scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half and continued his sudden playoff explosion. But Green felt like the most important player in the game.

After Green sat in single digits in single digits, Green scored 16 points in the first half and a total of 18 points, while at the same time leading another defensive effort with a brick wall. The Warriors held the Timberwolves 11 points in the second quarter, 31 points in the first half and 88 in total. It is the third time in these playoffs that they kept an opponent below 90.

The engine of this effort is green. He defended Julius Randle on several of his bully ball drives and limited him to four brands, his few in the playoffs. He helped Rudy Gobert as well as possible from the glass. Then he stuck as many gaps and deleted as many mistakes as possible.

Take a look at these successive possessions in the third quarter. Green turns to be an apparently Anthony Edwards Line Drive to the brink, which forced an inverted Miss. Then, in a single possession, he quenched a Mike Conley drive, soft-doulbled a randle post-up from Brandin Podziemski to force a pass, and closes a Jaden McDaniels drive.

The Timberwolves missed their first 15 3s and went 5 out of 29 from Deep, an unusually bad shootout from a team that took fourth place among the 30 NBA teams in 3-point percentage this season. Credit Green and the warriors' swarm defense for part of them. Credit Fortune for part of it.

But Minnesota didn't sleep the whole game. The wolves turned the offensive engine in the third quarter. Edwards missed his first 10 shots, but did nine of his next 12 and ended with 23 points. Naz Reid had 19 points and hit some timely shots. Randle made all 10 free throws.

So there were impending times for the warriors who were faced with an opponent and a lot of seeing blood to smell because they knew who knew who knew who knew Wasn't Bombard 3S out there from the other side. Minnesota has accepted less than 10 in the fourth quarter.

The second half tested the depth and crap of the warriors and they went. Kerr dived deeply into his rotation, pulled almost all the right strings and received both small and important contributions from several places in his reforming rotation.

Pat Spencer received the tasks of the Backup Point Guard in the second half and relegated from the bank with its hard, aggressive approach. He put two steals away, got two rebounds and hit a layup and a running hook. Kerr said Spencer would be part of the rotation of game 2 without a curry.

“Pat is a damn good basketball player,” said Green. “I know it doesn't look that way.

Kevon Looney delivered 14 robust minutes. He left the Bullpen in the middle of the fourth quarter after Green took out his fifth foul and played the role of the setup man.

Gary Payton II recently shook off an illness and left the problem of the elbow, fought back on the active list and played for 26 minutes with a bank heights.

Jonathan Kuminga also met 3 from this left corner in the fourth quarter. He again entered the series from the rotation, but Curry's injuries and Moses Moodys continued fighting kerr to go to the goal in Kuminga. He was not flawless, but he finally seemed to find a little rhythm and even cut it for this layup – the type of slashing points that the warriors of Kuminga will need when this series progresses without a curry.

Then there is Hield and Butler.

“I'm Batman today,” said Hield. “I saved the day.”

HILD put together his two best nights in a Warriors uniform in the two most important nights of the season to have a team in desperate attack. HILD supported a 33-point game 7 in Houston and opened the game with the wrong shorts and forced a strange time crossing of 59 seconds into the game to avoid a delay in the game while he changed.

That seemed to show the type of night that it would be for HILD. He missed his first seven shots.

But Hield then detonated in the second half and scored 22 points while serving as the main defender on Edwards. His made 3 with 2:32 on the left like the last dagger.

Butler has set up both Hields and Paytons 3S. Kerr put the ball in Butler's hands and called him a “comfortable” feeling and knew that Butler was bleeding out the clock and checking the pace.

“Jimmy is almost every star in the league when reading the game and checking the pace,” said Kerr.

Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight templates and two steals. He campaigned in a third half and made a huge floater when the lead seemed to wiggle. In his locker after the game, he spoke about the need to go to the gym during a planned day on Wednesday to sharpen his individual game because he knows that his score is needed in the near future without a curry.

(Photo by Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert: Abbie Parr / Associated Press)