Timberwolves rally past Warriors in fourth for 2-1 series lead

San Francisco With Golden State playing without Steph Curry Minnesota has a massive talent advantage over the Warriors And it used every bit of it to rally past Golden State on Saturday in San Francisco After three quarters of uninspiring basketball in which they were outwitted and outhustled by an undermanned Golden State club Minnesota mustered up enough good basketball when it needed it rallying from six down in the final frame to beat the Warriors - to claim a - series lead Jimmy Butler was the best contestant on the floor for the bulk of the evening But he was tasked with carrying a large load on both ends of the floor for the Warriors and seemed to run out of gas down the stretch with a number of looks coming up short Golden State struggled to total the moment that became the matter Golden State s offense melted into a puddle once Butler s effectiveness dipped The Warriors scored just points in the final frame including when the encounter was still in the balance and Minnesota raced past Golden State Anthony Edwards struggled mightily in the first half but exposed his -point shot over the final two quarters scoring of his points in the second half Julius Randle was a monster for Minnesota tallying points assists and rebounds His interior offense often stabilized Minnesota when it needed it preponderance And it certainly did need it Even without Curry the Warriors can defend at a high level That was evident in the final minutes seconds of the second quarter in which it held Minnesota to just one point The Warriors led by two at the break But Draymond Green was a big part of that defense and he picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter which sent him to the bench And collected fouls No and No in a second span in the fourth quarter Butler finished with points but went just for in the fourth quarter Jonathan Kuminga had points off the bench for Golden State Tournament is on Monday in San Francisco Related Articles With Julius Randle Timberwolves coach Chris Finch presses right buttons Nickeil Alexander-Walker met Timberwolves challenge in Championship One fan was ejected for comments made to Draymond Green in Championship as Wolves research continues Mizutani It s obvious the Timberwolves won t need their best to win this series Timberwolves blast Warriors bench for Contest win