Warriors vs. Timberwolves Game 2: Minnesota races out to 13-0 start, cruises to win over Curry-less Warriors

This was the tall, athletic Timberwolves’ defense that overwhelmed the Lakers last series, the defense we saw all season in Minnesota.

“We looked a lot more like ourselves,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.

This was the Warriors’ offense we expected without Stephen Curry, the one that would have been in the bottom three in the league. They didn’t score in the first five minutes of the game (and only had 15 in the first quarter).

The result was Minnesota racing out to a 13-0 lead to open the game and never looking back, cruising to a 117-93 win, tying the series at 1-1.

Game 3 is in the Bay Area on Saturday. The Warriors are expected to be without Stephen Curry for that game as he recovers from a strained hamstring (he will be re-evaluated after Game 4).

The only moment of concern for the Timberwolves came in the second quarter, when Anthony Edwards went down with a sprained ankle after Trayce Jackson-Davis stepped on it.

Edwards left the game at that point, but returned and played in the second half. He finished with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting with nine assists, although it was not a strong night of shot selection or ball security for him.

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves — particularly stepping up when Edwards was out — and finished with 24 points and 11 assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker broke out of his shooting slump and scored 20 off the bench, while Naz Reid added 11.

The Warriors came out flat, maybe because they were without Curry, maybe because they already had a win on the road in their pocket, or maybe a little of both. Minnesota’s strong defense had something to do with that, too.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr went deep into his bench, playing 13 players in the first half, searching for anything that might work.

“We have to figure out what we’re going to be able to do in this series without Steph,” Kerr said. “So we gave a lot of people a lot of chances, and some guys really stepped up.”

Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, earning more minutes in the next game. Jimmy Butler had 17 points, but Jaden McDaniels did a good job keeping him in check, while Buddy Hield scored 15 but on 5-of-14 shooting.