Minnesota Timberwolves, barely there early and booed eventually, fall to Golden State in NBA playoffs

The Timberwolves were at home, facing a Golden State team that had just finished a grueling seven-game series against the Rockets.

On top of that, the Warriors lost their best player, Stephen Curry, to a left hamstring strain in the second quarter.

Despite all those advantages, the Timberwolves turned in one of their worst performances of the season in a 99-88 loss to Golden State on Tuesday. It was so bad that fans booed the Wolves after they fell behind by 20 in the third quarter.

Everyone now awaits word on Curry’s injury, but on a night the Warriors needed a win with him out, the Wolves let them have it.

A lot of head-scratching things happened Tuesday night. Anthony Edwards couldn’t hit a shot — he had just one point in the first half — nor could his teammates, who struggled for the second straight game from three-point range. After going 4-for-47 in Game 5 against the Lakers, the Wolves shot 5-for-28 in Game 1, with Naz Reid accounting for three of those. The rest of the night was just bad basketball. Even with Curry out, the Warriors posted 36 on the Wolves in a third quarter in which they led by as many as 23.

The Wolves trailed by 20 entering the fourth and finally brought the crowd to life with an 11-0 run. But after the Wolves cut it to nine, Buddy Hield hit a three and Jimmy Butler hit a runner to push the lead back to 90-76 with 5:18 to play.

Hield led the Warriors with 24 points while Draymond Green had 18, including four threes. Green added eight rebounds and six assists. Edwards finished with 23 points on 9-for-22 shooting to go with 14 rebounds. Reid had 19 on 8-for-13 shooting as one of the offense’s lone bright spots.

The first quarter set a defensive tone for the evening, as the Wolves led 20-18. Both teams shot under 40%. The Wolves were 0-for-8 from three-point range, and Edwards opened 0-for-6.

The Warriors took a timeout early in the game because Hield was wearing the wrong shorts. He changed and was back on the floor when play resumed.

The Warriors opened with a 13-6 lead as the Wolves were cold from the outside early. Rudy Gobert was their best offense in the early going with six points. The Wolves went on a 10-0 run powered by six second-chance points. Gobert opened the night 3-for-3 from the floor. Curry tied the score 16-16 on a three that came off a Golden State offensive rebound and prompted a timeout from Chris Finch with 3:38 to play.

Curry left the game, and the Warriors announced it was because of a left hamstring strain. Curry exited with 8:19 to play in the second quarter as Golden State took control of the game and led by as many as 14. The team announced later in the quarter he would be out for the rest of the game. The Warriors led 44-31 at the half

Game 1 continued with the Wolves offense looking as bad as it’s been all postseason. They scored just 11 points in the second quarter. They were 0-for-15 from three-point range in the half.

They fell behind in the opening minutes of the quarter as their offense went dry while Edwards sat. The Warriors went on a 12-0 run to open the quarter that forced a Wolves timeout with 8:19 left in the quarter. The Wolves couldn’t figure out the Warriors’ zone defense nor could they shoot over it. Meanwhile, Green, a 32% career three-point shooter, was hitting from the outside. He was 4-for-5 from three-point range to open the night, and the Warriors led by as much as 36-22.

Reid appeared to hurt himself going for a loose ball late in the second quarter. He committed a foul and went to the locker room.

Edwards finally scored his first point of the night at the foul line with 1:04 to play in the first half after opening the night 0-for-8.

The Wolves came out uninspired in the third quarter and fell behind by 20, 55-35, and fans booed as Finch called timeout. Reid returned from his brief injury and hit the team’s first three in 17 tries.

Edwards woke up a bit in the quarter by getting to the rim for nine points, but the Wolves’ defense kept them from making a significant dent in the lead after they cut it to 13. The Warriors actually had their largest lead of the night, 76-53, late in the quarter after the Wolves went small with Reid at the five. Hield had 16 in the quarter for Golden State and the Wolves couldn’t stay attached to their man on the perimeter. Even without Curry, the Warriors had little trouble scoring.