The Golden State Warriors battled hard in Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center on Saturday but failed to come away with the win. The Warriors led by five early in the fourth quarter, but ended up losing 102-97, and head coach Steve explained postgame how the Timberwolves were able to take control.
“It felt like a couple of offensive rebounds for them turned into threes,” Kerr said. “I think yeah, [Anthony] Edwards had one out of the corner, [Naz] Reid. There was a big sequence where Jimmy [Butler] had a shot at the rim, looked like he was gonna convert it, looked like he might have gotten fouled, but then they went the other way and got an offensive board, and Reid hit the three from the corner.
“I thought that was the sequence that really shifted the game and the momentum,” Kerr added. “So, 13 offensive boards for them, 26 points. That was a big factor in the fourth.”
The Timberwolves had 26 second-chance points compared to just 14 for the Warriors. Naz Reid’s three-pointer in the fourth quarter following an offensive rebound from Mike Conley was big, but the real backbreaker came later in the game.
With the Timberwolves leading 93-89 with over a minute remaining, Anthony Edwards missed a three-pointer. The Warriors would have had a chance to make it a one-possession game if they’d secured the rebound there, but they didn’t.
Rudy Gobert came up with the offensive rebound and passed it to Edwards, who drilled the three-pointer on the second attempt. That pushed the lead to seven and all but ended the game.
Edwards would finish with 36 points (12-28 FG), four rebounds, and four assists in Game 3. He had gotten off to a slow start, but then scored 28 points in the second half to guide the Timberwolves to victory. The Warriors just couldn’t deal with him or Julius Randle on the night.
Randle had 24 points (10-23 FG), 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and three steals in this contest. It was the first postseason triple-double of his career, and he sure chose a great time to pull that off.
The Warriors, meanwhile, were led by Jimmy Butler, who had 33 points (12-26 FG), seven rebounds, and seven assists in Game 3. Butler carried the Warriors for much of the night in Stephen Curry’s absence but slowed down in the fourth quarter. He went 1-7 from the field in the period as the Warriors were outscored 33-24.
The Timberwolves have now reclaimed home-court advantage in this series, and another win in Game 4 will put them in the driver’s seat. If the Warriors are to tie things up, Kerr believes it will have to be with their defense.
“We’ve gotta put our best two-way lineups on the floor,” Kerr stated.” I think we’re gonna win the series with defense. We’re not gonna beat them in a skill game, we have to get stops to win the series. Without Steph, obviously we’re a totally different team. So, if we can get stops and run, create some offense off of our defense, that’s part of the formula.”
The earliest that Curry could return for the Warriors is reportedly Game 6, so they need to win one of these next two without him. Game 4 will be at the Chase Center on Monday at 10 PM ET.
