No Steph Curry, no problem: Undermanned Warriors scrap past Timberwolves despite loss of superstar guard

The Golden State Warriors rode their superstar Steph Curry to a 10-point lead in the first half of Tuesday night’s 99-88 win against the Timberwolves. Now their ability to play without him after an injury might dictate the rest of the series.

There was seemingly no panic from Golden State after Curry left the game for good with 8:19 to play in the second quarter because of a hamstring strain.

How did the Curry-less Warriors outplay the Wolves in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals at Target Center? Part of it was defense. Part it was depth. Part of it was how well Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Buddy Hield lifted the offense with 62 points combined.

“Any team with me on it, I think has a chance,” said Butler, who finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists Tuesday. “We know we need all hands on deck if [Curry] isn’t ready to go.”

Butler, Hield and Green, who combined to hit 11 of the team’s 18 three-pointers, might have to figure out how to recapture that offensive magic. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he’s game-planning as if Curry won’t be available for Game 2 Thursday at Target Center.

Hield had 24 points Tuesday, but playing without Curry likely means the offense will rely even more on Butler and Green moving forward.

“The ball just needs to move a lot more and find the open guy,” Butler said. “But I guess it’s going to be my job to draw a little bit more attention. Probably not as much as Steph does draw, but I have to find a way to score and get everyone else involved.”

Kerr said the Warriors were setting high ball screens for Butler as their primary offense in the final eight minutes.

“We were willing to take shot clock violations at that point,” Kerr said. “It was all about protecting the ball, and Jimmy is, I think, as good as anybody, any star in the league, at reading the game and understanding how to control the tempo. Control the time and score. Understand everything that happens.”

After Curry left the game in the second quarter, Green drilled back-to-back three-pointers to stretch Golden State’s lead to 36-22. He finished with 18 points on 4-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc, to go with eight rebounds and six assists.

Green hopes to take better care of the ball after committing four turnovers Tuesday. He won’t go as far as to say he can replace Curry’s playmaking, but he’ll do his best.

“We’ll see what coach has in store,” Green said. “I’m not going to come out and be like, ‘Oh, I need to be Steph.’ I can’t do that. But I may have to handle it a little more.”

Curry, who finished with 13 points in 13 minutes, was “a little deflated” when the Warriors saw him at halftime, Green said. He tried to stay upbeat in the locker room, but Curry noticeably limped as he left the arena after the game.

Even with Curry’s timetable to return uncertain, the Warriors remain in good spirits about their Game 1 performance, especially about their defense.

The Wolves missed their first 16 three-point shots, and Anthony Edwards didn’t score his first field goal until 8:02 remained in the third quarter. But the Warriors expect more punch from Edwards and company Thursday.

“Complete team effort, but we know this series will get tougher and tougher,” Green said. “Regardless of if we get Steph back or not this is a really good team with a lot of pride and a lot of talent.”