Jimmy Butler-led Warriors steal Game 1 from Wolves after Curry leaves with injury

Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News on May 7, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS – In a postseason full of shocking second-round results, Golden State pulled off perhaps the biggest stunner of them all on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Even with the face of the franchise lost for the game in the second quarter, the Warriors used veteran guile and surprising contributions from unexpected places to put the Wolves on the ropes to start the fourth quarter at Target Center.

Despite a spirited Minnesota comeback, the Steph Curry-less Warriors held on for a 99-88 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.

In his return to Minnesota to face the team he left under acrimonious circumstances, Jimmy Butler III scored 20 points while being booed every time he touched the ball. Kevon Looney came off the bench to provide a strong presence in the paint, and Buddy Hield added 18 points despite beginning the game with the wrong shorts.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 23 points.

Curry was injured with around nine minutes left in the second quarter, straining his left hamstring on a closeout before grabbing a defensive rebound.

Even though Curry made a floater on the next possession, his leg was clearly bothering him, and coach Steve Kerr subbed the superstar out with 8:19 left in the half.

Later in the second quarter, Curry was ruled out for the game with a left hamstring strain after scoring 13 points in the same amount of minutes.

Even without Curry, the Warriors used an incredible defensive effort by Draymond Green and timely shot-making from their role players to take an 80-60 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Wolves used a 16-5 run to cut the deficit to just nine with six minutes left, but a 3-pointer by Hield and a Butler mid-range runner pushed the Warriors’ advantage back to 90-76 with 5:18 to go.

Edwards’ and-1 layup cut the deficit back to nine points with three and a half minutes left, but Hield and Gary Payton II each made 3-pointers to keep the Wolves at bay and provide the Warriors a 12-point lead with 2:11 remaining.

It was a strong ending to a game controlled by the Warriors.

The Warriors led by 13 at halftime and expanded the margin to 55-35 three minutes into the third quarter thanks to a flurry of points, including back-to-back triples by Game 7 hero and sometimes class clown Hield.

The Wolves’ offense had been so abysmal that when Naz Reid made their first 3-pointer after missing their initial 16 attempts – including a historically-bad 0-for-15 in the first half – the Target Center crowd gave the team a roaring ovation.

The Wolves woke up after that make, but even sans Curry, Golden State’s attack continued to roll.

Reserve guard Pat Spencer gave the Warriors a spark off the bench, making a running hook shot, nabbing a few steals and even stealing an offensive board as Golden State extended the lead to 76-53 with 2:23 left in the third quarter.

Like the Rockets team that played multiple big men and crashed the offensive glass with aplomb, the Wolves had a major height advantage around the rim.

The Warriors attacked the Wolves’ drop defense with Rudy Gobert by peppering Minnesota with 3-pointers, and shooting floaters. Green set the tone on the first possession when he went right at the Frenchman and floated in a teardrop.

The offense was rough in the first quarter, though, with the Warriors shooting just 7 for 22 as Minnesota held a 20-18 lead despite Edwards missing all six of his shots in the opening 12 minutes.

The Warriors answered with a 15-0 run to start the second quarter, one marred by Curry’s hamstring injury.

Thanks to Green’s hot shooting – 4 of 6 for the forward and 9 of 20 as a team from 3-point range in the first half – and continued strong defense on Anthony Edwards, the Warriors led 44-31 at halftime.

Edwards scored only one point in the first half, going 0 for 8 from the field in 20 minutes.

Those 31 points allowed by Golden State was the fewest a Warriors opponent had scored in the postseason since the inception of the shot clock in 1954.

That stellar defensive half set the tone for an impressive Golden State win.

Game 2 is Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Minnesota.