SAN FRANCISCO — With the NBA all-time 3-point leader Stephen Curry relegated to cheering while sidelined by a hamstring injury and sporting a gray sweatsuit on the bench, the Golden State Warriors struggled to establish their long-range game in a 102-97 Game 3 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
They didn't make a shot from deep in the first half, but led 42-40 anyway.
Golden State missed its first five tries from beyond the arc before Buddy Hield connected 35 seconds into the third quarter. The Warriors came into Game 3 against Minnesota with a playoff-leading 135 3-pointers.
Golden State made 6 of 11 3s in the third quarter to go ahead 73-69 and finished 10 for 23 from deep.
''It's hard to generate 3s, you have to gain an advantage and get rotations. It's hard for us to do without Steph, without our point guard and pick-and-rolls,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''Jimmy (Butler) is obviously creating plenty, it's different. It's not the same level of stretching the defense out like Steph does. So we've got to try to find ways to score more, to try to generate more shots.''
It marked the first time the Warriors didn't hit at least one 3 in any half of a playoff game since the second half of a 112-99 loss in Game 2 of the first round against Dallas in 2007. The Warriors finished 4 for 20 in that one.
It was also the first time they went without a 3 in a first half of a playoff game in the play-by-play era, since 1997. Two other teams this postseason have been held without a 3 in the first half — Minnesota in Game 1 of this series and the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their first-round win against Orlando. No team had done so the previous six postseasons.
The Warriors also became the first team to lead a playoff game at halftime despite making no 3s since the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017.
