Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes Timberwolves’ shortened bench stand tall; Warriors dig deeper for help

Golden State coach Steve Kerr played all nine healthy players on his bench before halftime Thursday against the Timberwolves, all to find his team’s way forward without injured Stephen Curry in their Western Conference playoff series.

The Wolves, in turn, relied upon their usual three reserves before coach Chris Finch cleared his bench late in a 117-93 victory that evened the series 1-1.

Kerr found forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis in an audition of sorts after they combined to score 33 of the Warriors’ 39 points off the bench.

Meanwhile, Wolves reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker rediscovered his shot and his offensive game, with four three-pointers made and 20 points scored in the lopsided victory.

In doing so, the Wolves’ shortened bench — Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid as well — outscored the Warriors’ vastly expanded one 46-39.

“Nickeil was huge,” Finch said. “We really needed this game from him.”

Alexander-Walker scored in double figures once in the Wolves’ first six playoff games, a 10-point performance in the close-out Game 5 first-round game against the Lakers. Thursday’s 20-point game came after a chat on Wednesday’s off day.

“We challenged him to be able to contribute like this, like he has all season,” Finch said. “Those guys came in and we got really clean looks for them. They were super confident, knocked ‘em down, respaced the floor really quickly. Our bench was massive. We feel that’s a strength for us, and when it bears out like this, it makes us that much tougher.”

Kerr called his very long bench part of Thursday’s game plan, partly to give veteran starters Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green some rest and partly to see who would step forward. In Game 2, that was Kuminga with 18 points and Jackson-Davis with 15. The rest of the bench combined to score eight points on a night Golden State trailed by 22 points before halftime and got no closer than seven points after that.

Curry strained his left hamstring in Game 1 on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in a week. A best-case scenario would be a return for Game 6, if needed.

“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.”

Alexander-Walker took 13 shots and made seven. He went 4-for-6 on threes after Finch challenged him.

“Just embrace it every day,” Alexander-Walker said about Finch’s challenge. “They’re only saying that because they believe in my ability. For me, you can’t run from a challenge. God willing, years from now I can show my son what I was able to do. Just a life lesson on how when you face adversity, you’ve got to step up to it. You can’t back down from it.”

When the Warriors cut that 22-point second-quarter deficit to 62-55, the Wolves’ three-man bench, Alexander-Walker included, helped push the lead back to 20 points by third quarter’s end.

“Sense of urgency, just understanding the moment,” Alexander-Walker said about the turnaround. “We had a slack on our end. Bring energy, play hard. We took our foot off the gas just a little bit, but we gathered ourselves and brought back the intensity we brought in the first half.”

Finch praised Alexander-Walker’s versatility and his ability to do more than score.

“He can do a lot of different things, and for me it starts with his ability to knock down shots,” Finch said. “We needed him to take a deep breath and stay ready and confident. He had turned down some shots over the last few games. We can’t have that. Everything flows from there for him.

“His creation and ability to attack the basket, his ability to guard multiple guys, it’s all that. We need his size, length, toughness. It’s really important to get him a game like this.”