Anthony Edwards fights against injuries, Julius Randle displays a double-double and the Minnesota is in the process of presenting a victory of 117-93.
Minneapolis – No matter what it is happening with the advantage of the wacky road team in the Eastern Conference. It was first left to Oklahoma City, then the Minnesota Timberwolves to impose an order to the west on what started in this tour as chaos at home.
The victory of the Wolves 117-93 against Golden State Thursday at the Target Center was not as swollen as what the Thunder did in Denver a night earlier. But he achieved the same thing, the evening of the semi-finals series of the conference at 1-1 that the series changed town.
In fact, the situation of Minnesota was a little more disastrous than that of OKC. If the Wolves had failed to beat the Warriors with Stephen Curry – after losing match 1 despite an injury to the hamstring prematurely the night of Curry – even pure and hard fans could have grimacted on what could probably have happened.
But this scenario (perhaps an update version of the former Wolf Jimmy Butler who arrives in the gymnasium and punk of the franchise as it did notoriously in 2018) did not occur.
Here are five points to remember from the match that Minnesota did not dare to lose, while the series moves to San Francisco from match 3 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. he, ABC).
1. Wolves felt the urgency and responded
Everything has been accelerated in this series. First of all, opposing coaches began to put the officials for the officials for calls after a single match. And Minnesota already felt the essential emergency in match 2.
On their credit, the Wolves have taken up the challenge. They scored the first 13 points of the match, led 20-5 in the depths of the first quarter and, at that time, had maintained Golden State in shooting 2 for 12 (1 for 8 on 3s) and even 0 for 2 of the line of fault.
Not having curry on the ground for a defense is like not having vegetables on your plate when you are 12 years old.
The Wolves became thread with their heads, pumping it at 22 in the second quarter and 25 towards the end. Julius Randle was their pillar, with 24 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Jaden McDaniels was a double -sense star, helping Pester Butler only 17 points on a night when the Warriors needed much more than the guy of the “qualifiers”. McDaniels itself scored 16 points and added three interceptions and three blocks.
The Wolves sagged in the third quarter, becoming botched with the ball while their advance was chiselled at 62-55 at 6:57 am. But a pair of 3 points and the intermittent offensive of the Warriors pushed the two -digit margin.
2. Kerr throws players at Wall, 2 from “Em Stick
Losing curry is like hanging a fancy sweater – things can collapse quickly. It is the center and offense of Golden State, a player whose standard rest in the games is difficult enough to cover. Losing him for long sections, whole matches or, in this case, for at least a week to his hamstring injury requires serious sorting.
“Part of the entering match plan was to play a lot of people and we did it,” said coach Steve Kerr. “We have to understand what we are going to be able to do in this series without Steph. We have given a lot of people a lot of chance and some guys have really intensified.”
Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury caused cascade effects on the Warriors rotation, and the Wolves take advantage of it in match 2.
Two in particular: Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Jackson-Davis is a great deep reserve man who struck the six shots, clogged the defensively midfielder and scored 15 points. Kuminga, 22, is a thoroughbred athlete and for a long time as part of the future of Golden State. Wrapping his fourth season of the NBA, he fell from the rotation in April, a negative before a limited free agency. Kuminga marked a top of team 18 on the bench.
“We have to find rotations and that we start, but they will be part of it,” said Kerr after his staff experience. “We have to find better ways to mark.”
3. Edwards takes license, continues to check
For several uncomfortable minutes to close the first half, it seemed that it could turn into a series of chess – as in the key rooms removed from the board for both sides. Halfway through the second quarter, Edwards hit the ground and raised the left ankle by Jackson-Davis de Golden State.
While the action moved to the other end, Edwards remained below. Coach Chris Finch called for a dead time and his star shot kept had to be helped in the locker room, where he stayed at halftime.
“This one who really worried me,” said Finch, asked about Edwards’ talent to bounce against injuries in matches. “I planned not to see him for the rest of the match, to be honest with you.”
Edwards returned, however. He looked trembling in the third, but scored 10 in the fourth. It was not the people of the show who expected, but he was moving well. He has 48 hours for treatment before match 3 and, remember, he is a 23-year-old man at rapid healing.
“One thing about Ant is that he will not sit down,” said his teammate Nickeil Alexander-Walker. “He must be damn close to death.”
4. DRAYMOND inch offenses to the danger zone
The center of the Warriors Draymond Green positioned itself at the dawn of the potential suspension, picking up another technical fault with 8:46 to play in the second quarter.
Green had the ball, with Naz Reid from Minnesota keeping him from behind, when Reid reached and dirty. Green exhausted his arms in a way that hit Reid in the head.
Verdict of the referee: Failure on Reid, dead ball technique on Green. When, Green became ballistic. But the game has evolved and Green is now in the two technical points of an exile of 1 match.
“He’s going to have to be careful now. We need him,” Kerr said.
5. Minnesota regresses average history
The Wolves had set a new low NBA for a clarification of 3 points after the match 1. Combined with their work of 7 for 47 in the clincher on the Lakers last week, the Minnesota of 5 for 29 in match 1 Tuesday set a low NBA for the consecutive qualifying series: 12 for 76, only 15.7%.
This time, with a better selection of shots and a ground spacing, they took 37 and reached 16, or 43.2% robust. At 32.1% for the playoffs, they still have work to do to approach their precision of 37.7% of the regular season, which ranked fourth.
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Steve Aschburner wrote on the NBA since 1980. You can send it by e-mail herefind His archives here And Follow him on x.
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