Lead 1-0! The Warriors refused to reverse 20 points, Curry was injured, Hilder scored 5 three-pointers, Words 23+14

Editor|Lao Kankanqiu

On May 7, the second round of the NBA 2024-25 season playoffs ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Minnesota Timberwolves were at home, facing the Golden State Warriors, officially kicking off the first game of the series. What is amazing is that the two teams have advanced with the No. 6 seed and No. 7 seed respectively in the West, both of which are below the top score. The difference is that the Timberwolves swept the Lakers 4-1 and got plenty of rest time; while the Warriors went through seven fierce battles, defeating the Rockets 4-3 with only one day off in the middle. From the perspective of physical fitness alone, the Timberwolves are not only young but also advance early, and their advantages are very obvious. However, during the regular season, the two teams met 4 times, and the Warriors won 3 of them, which is a bit of a match.

"This will be a difficult showdown. Obviously, the Warriors are a team with a championship background!" Timberwolves head coach Fincher said in an interview with the media before the game, "Our experience is very similar. We both played a winning streak in the final stage of the regular season, and both played the best in the first round of the playoffs. They just experienced a very difficult series, but there is no doubt that they have also shown excellent offensive and defensive strength. It is really not easy to defeat them!" Indeed, the Warriors with Curry and Butler really dare not underestimate them, but Timberwolves' rising star Edwards has also completed evolution this season. He averaged 26.8 points per game in the playoffs, and while giving away 31 assists in the first round, he only had 6 mistakes, and his strength should not be underestimated. Before the game, US media ESPN also gave a prediction of the winning rate of this game: the Timberwolves' winning rate is 51.9%, while the Warriors' winning rate is only 48.1%. Obviously, ESPN is still optimistic that the Timberwolves can win the first game in the next round. In this game, in terms of starting, Payton Jr. is suspected of playing. Cole's starting five-man team is: Stephen Curry, Buddy Hilder, Brandin Pojemsky, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green; on the Timberwolves, Dillingham continues to be absent, and the starting lineup is: Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Randle, and Gobert.

The first quarter started, Zhu Meng accelerated to break through and scored Gobert's throw, scoring the first point of the game. Interestingly, because Hilde wore the wrong shorts, the game was temporarily suspended and ran back to the locker room to replace it. Curry received the ball and passed McDan and easily scored in the empty basket. Butler scored a three-pointer with a large open space in the bottom corner, and the Warriors overtook 3 points. Randall made a jump shot with a difficult step-down butler, scoring 4 points in a row to respond. Curry and Podjemsky made two consecutive three-pointers, and the Warriors led 13-6 to 7 points. Gobert grabbed the frontcourt rebounds in a row and scored 4 points in Zhu Meng's head. After stealing, McDan counterattacked and scored with one-stop emergency stop and scored. The Timberwolves scored a 10-0 wave and overtook the Warriors for 3 points. Curry finally hit an open three-pointer from the top of the arc, breaking the scoring drought. Randall forced his move to fail in the last attack. After the first quarter, the Timberwolves led the Warriors by 2 points 20-18. In the first quarter, Edwards felt cold, made 0 of 6 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, and did not score, and only sent 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Curry played for 9 minutes, 3 of 6 shots, and 2 of 4 three-pointers and scored 8 points.

Back in the second quarter, Zhu Meng made a steadily three-pointer at the open space, and the Warriors took the lead again. Walker scored a three-pointer with the ball and still made a blacksmith. The Timberwolves currently make 0 of 11 three-pointers, which is really a big shot. After Curry made a difficult three-pointer and made a quick stop and made a mid-range shot, he scored 13 points, and the Warriors led by 10 points to stop the Timberwolves. Surprisingly, Curry then returned to the locker room and limped. After stealing Edwards at the basket, he made another fourth three-pointer in the game, and the gap has widened to 14 points. Hilde received the ball and was blown away by Gobert's big hat again, and he didn't score 0 of 6 shots. Edwards made a breakthrough layup and was also nailed to the basket by Butler. Currently, 0 of 8 shots is not included. Naz Reed was also wounded when he came out of the field to save the ball and had no choice but to return to the locker room. Divincenzo made another mistake in the last attack. At the end of the half, the Timberwolves trailed the Warriors 13 points 31-44.

Half-time data, on the Warriors, Curry played for 12 minutes, made 5 of 9 shots, 3 of 6 shots, and scored 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist; Green played for 16 minutes, scored 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals; Butler played for 20 minutes, scored 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

It is worth mentioning that the Warriors officially announced that Curry had withdrawn from today's game early due to a strain on the back of his left thigh, and the Warriors were in trouble.

On the Timberwolves, Edwards made 0 of 8 shots and 0 of 3 three-pointers to score 1 point, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

The side changes again, Payton Jr. made another three-pointer in the corner, and the Warriors led the Timberwolves by 16 points. Conley still failed to score a three-pointer. The Timberwolves' team is currently 0 of 16 three-pointers, which is really awesome. The dream-chasing assisted Butler with a dunk with both hands, Hilder then made three-pointers in a row, and the Warriors shot 12 three-pointers, which widened the gap to 20 points. Naz Reed received the ball in a large open space and finally made a three-pointer, breaking the Timberwolves' scoring drought. Hilder took a quick stop and took a step back and scored 2+1. He immediately responded, and scored 9 points in a row and the Warriors still led by 20 points.

In the fourth quarter, Naz Reed counterattacked and made another three-pointer. Kumingga received the ball in the bottom corner and made the Warriors' 15th three-pointer in the game. The Timberwolves were still 20 points behind. Edwards made consecutive breakthroughs and scored 5 points in a row. The Warriors missed three-pointers from the outside. There were no goals in the past 4 minutes and 38 seconds. The Timberwolves responded with a 13-2 wave to chase the difference of 9 points. Hilder made a steadily three-pointer and finally broke the scoring drought. Butler also made a throw. The Warriors led to 14 points again, and there was no suspense in the game. In the end, the Warriors defeated the Timberwolves 99-88, leading 1-0 with a big score. All the four matches between the East and West were in the finale.. In terms of data, on the Warriors, Curry only played for 12 minutes after injury, scored 5 of 9 shots, scored 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist; Hilder made 5 of 8 three-pointers, scoring 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal; Butler scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals; Zhu Meng Green contributed 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.

On the Timberwolves, Edwards made 9 of 22 shots, scored 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers; Naz Reed scored 19 points, 5 rebounds; McDaniels contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds; Randle scored 18 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.