The Minnesota Timberwolves tied the Western Conference semifinal comfortably on Thursday, defeating the Golden State Warriors 117-93 at Target Center.
The Warriors were without star guard Steph Curry, who was ruled out of Game 2 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, survived a scare to Anthony Edwards’ left ankle. Edwards was helped to the locker room in the second quarter after driving to the basket and having his shot blocked by Trayce Jackson-Davis. Edwards immediately fell and grabbed his left ankle. He returned at the start of the second half after being deemed questionable to return.
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“Feeling great,” Edwards said of his ankle postgame. “Yup, feeling great.”
Julius Randle paced the Timberwolves with 24 points and recorded a postseason career-high 10 assists. Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each had 20 points.
For the Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga led with 18 points. Jimmy Butler had 17 points and Buddy Hield and Jackson-Davis each scored 15.
Game 3 is Saturday in San Francisco.
Julius Randle shows off the finesse AND power 💪
He’s got 16 PTS in the first half of Game 2 on TNT!
Warriors (1-0) Timberwolves pic.twitter.com/jO9QHwaxsV
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2025
Minnesota wins on defense
The Timberwolves did what they needed to do in Game 2, pulling out the defensive energy to win and even the series. But if they were trying to send a message to the Warriors that they have no chance without Curry, that didn’t happen.
Golden State was within 12 points in the third quarter, and kept hanging around thanks to some poor shot selection and off nights from Edwards and Rudy Gobert on that end of the floor. Edwards was just 6-for-13 for 20 points while playing through a sprained left ankle. Gobert had five points and took four shots. Those numbers should have been much bigger, but he had one of his worst nights with ball security of the season.
In the end, the Wolves turned up the defense enough to keep the Warriors from getting anything going. If the Wolves are going to win this series, they’re going to do it on defense. That was their calling card all of last season, and they’re going to have to just grind this short-handed Warriors team down.
Jaden McDaniels was terrific on that end of the floor, limiting Butler’s effectiveness. Mike Conley and Alexander-Walker held Hield to 5-for-14 shooting.
That is their meal ticket in this series while Curry is out. — Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves beat writer
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Warriors have been lackluster without Curry
The Warriors delivered the double-digit Game 2 road loss that Las Vegas predicted. They went scoreless the first five minutes, only had 15 first-quarter points and have a serious offensive problem in this series without Curry.
Staring at that new non-Curry world, coach Steve Kerr went on a 14-player first-half search for any type of answer. He discovered a couple possibilities. Kuminga was given his longest runway in a month and responded with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes. Jackson-Davis was also brought out of deep freeze and provided some serious rim pressure, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds in nine minutes.
Kuminga started the second half and Jackson-Davis subbed in quickly. It appears likely that Kerr will go to both in Game 3. Kuminga and Jackson-Davis are two of the team’s better athletes. The struggling Moses Moody, who has missed his last 14 shots, and Quinten Post, who started but only played three minutes, seem like obvious candidates to vanish from the rotation.
But it’s clear the Warriors are going to need a different, more aggressive version of Butler to get a win or two in this series, extending it long enough for Curry’s hamstring to heal. Butler had 17 points and four assists in 34 decent but unspectacular minutes. He only took 13 shots. That might need to be doubled in Game 3. — Anthony Slater, senior NBA writer
Alexander-Walker has breakout game
Alexander-Walker may have been the Timberwolves’ most consistent player throughout the regular season. He is one of the team’s best perimeter defenders and also came through as a reliable 3-point shooter, making 38 percent of them.
But he started the playoffs in a terrible shooting slump. Alexander-Walker was 9-for-37 from the field (24 percent), including 5-for-25 from deep (20 percent) in the first six games. He finally got going in Game 2, scoring 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
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The Wolves needed it, too. When Alexander-Walker is knocking down 3s at a reliable rate, it makes them so much harder to guard. After going 12-for-76 in their previous two games from 3, the Wolves were 15-for-35 (43 percent) in Game 2. — Krawczynski
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
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