LOS ANGELES: The Minnesota Timberwolves exploited the injury absence of Stephen Curry to defeat the Golden State Warriors 117-93 and level their NBA Western Conference semifinal series on Thursday.
A fired-up Timberwolves line-up, who had been stunned by the Warriors in game one on Tuesday, were always in control as they powered to a wire-to-wire victory in Minneapolis that squares the series at 1-1.
Julius Randle led the scoring for Minnesota with 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added an eye-catching 20 points off the bench, including four three-pointers, on a night when five Timberwolves players finished in double figures.
Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors scoring with 18 points from the bench, Jimmy Butler finishing with 17.
Edwards said an improved defensive effort led to Minnesota’s win after a dismal offensive display in their game one loss.
“We watched film yesterday and we saw it wasn’t just that we didn’t make our shots — it was more so our defensive effort and intensity. We didn’t bring it,” Edwards said.
“So we knew we had to bring it today.”
With Golden State taking to the floor without Curry, who suffered a hamstring injury in game one, Minnesota set the tone early in the first quarter, racing into a hefty 25-7 lead that left the Warriors chasing the game.
Minnesota were given a scare when Edwards limped off with an ankle problem in the second quarter, but the Timberwolves went into half-time with a commanding 56-39 lead.
Edwards returned for the start of the third quarter, but Minnesota were rocked by an early Golden State onslaught.
Butler and Kuminga both grabbed eight points apiece in a rally that helped the Warriors slash the Timberwolves’ lead to just seven points at 62-55 with just under seven minutes remaining in the third.
The Timberwolves regrouped impressively and closed the quarter with a 20-5 run to build an 85-65 lead heading into the final frame.
Without the deadly three-point scoring threat of Curry, the Warriors never looked like closing the gap and Golden State coach Steve Kerr ran up the white flag with four minutes remaining, removing his starters as Minnesota coasted home.
Kerr said his team had learned valuable lessons on how to play without the talismanic Curry as they return to San Francisco for game three on Saturday.
The 11-time All-Star Curry was ruled out for at least a week on Wednesday.
“We’re trying to figure out what we’re gonna be able to do in this series without Steph, so we gave a lot of people a lot of chances,” Kerr said of his shifting line-up.
“I thought we made a really spirited run to get the lead down to seven, but then we just kind of lost a little bit of composure. We turned it over a couple of times, gave up a couple of threes when we lost our defensive connection.
“But we learned a lot and I think this game will help us figure out how to move forward.”
Timberwolves overpower Warriors to level series
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Timberwolves overpower Warriors to level series
- Golden State coach Steve Kerr said his team had learned valuable lessons on how to play without the talismanic Curry
Real Madrid face Man City, PSG draw Chelsea in Champions League last 16
- This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012
- Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray
PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before traveling to England for the return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarterfinals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semifinals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.
PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarterfinals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.
Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
“The draw is fascinating, as usual,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions.”
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.
- Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona -
There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarterfinals.
Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.
The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarterfinals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St. James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.
Barcelona’s only other possible opponents were holders PSG, but their coach Hansi Flick insisted: “We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League.”
Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.
Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favorites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.
The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Arsenal as “perhaps the top favorite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League. Everything has to go right, but then we’re capable of making life difficult for them.”
German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.
The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
