1-1 draw! Huazi was injured and hit 20+9, Green s evil offender, Cole rotated 14 people, and the Warriors lost 24 points

Editor|Lao Kankanqiu

On May 9, the second round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Minnesota Timberwolves continued to sit at home and face the Golden State Warriors. Surprisingly, although both teams advanced to the top, the level of confrontation in the first round series was very different, resulting in the Timberwolves not being prepared for the first round of the second round. They were caught off guard by the Warriors in the first half and once lagging as much as 23 points. As the boss of the team, Edwards only scored 1 point in the first half. Although he adjusted his state in time in the second half, it was too late and he eventually lost and fell 0-1 behind the Warriors in the series.

However, for the Warriors, although they won the away game of G1, the team's core Curry unexpectedly suffered a left hamstring strain. According to the latest injury report released by the Warriors, Curry will be absent for at least one week, which is indeed very difficult for the Warriors. "This is how the playoffs are, and we need to constantly adapt - whether it is game planning, injury response, or lineup adjustment," Warriors coach Kerr said in an interview. "We have encountered many similar situations, and we are confident in dealing with this change." Before the game, US media ESPN also gave a prediction of the winning rate of this game: the Timberwolves' winning rate is as high as 56.5%, while the Warriors' winning rate has dropped to 43.5%. Obviously, ESPN is still optimistic that the Timberwolves can win G2 and equalize the series' big score. In this game, in terms of starting, Curry was absent due to injury, and Cole's starting five-man lineup was: Hilde, Pojemsky, Butler, Dream-Green, Post; on the Timberwolves, Dillingham continued to be absent, and the starting lineup was: Conley, Edwards, Randall, McDann, and Gobert.

started the first quarter, McDan and Old Conley scored three-pointers in a row, the Timberwolves led 8-0 at the beginning, Hilder made a three-pointer, the Warriors failed to score a point in more than 5 minutes at the beginning, Randle passed the dream and faced Hilder and then scored 2+1. The Timberwolves continued to maintain their lead 13-0. Butler made a three-pointer with a forceful shot, and then scored 5 points in a row with a jump shot from the emergency stop, breaking the Warriors' scoring drought. Gobert steals a one-stop and loses the ball, Moody's throws are strange and misses, and Kumingga misses two free throws after committing a foul, all of them are comedians. Edwards and Reed made three-pointers in a row. After the first quarter, the Timberwolves led the Warriors 29-15 by as much as 14 points.

Back in the second quarter, Cole continued to try out a new lineup, replaced TJD and Knox, and the 13-man rotation caused heated discussion. Green forced Reed to commit a foul, boxing to Reed's face. After watching the video, the referee gave the former a technical foul. Zhu Meng was very dissatisfied and angrily criticized the referee. The home fans continued to put pressure on T, but the referee did not express any statement. Edwards broke into the basket and was accidentally injured by TJD when he landed. He covered his ankle and was in great pain. Then he limped and was helped to leave the field. Randall made a steadily three-pointer from the top of the arc, and the Timberwolves widened the gap to 22 points. Kumingga made a counterattack breakthrough against layups, and then rushed to stop and mid-range shots. Currently, he scored 10 points with 5 of 5 shots. Before the end of the half, Kerr replaced the team's last player, and 14 players made a record rotation. At the end of the half, the Warriors chased to a 17-point difference 39-56.

Halftime data, on the Warriors, Butler made 2 of 5 shots, scored 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal; Hilder made 2 of 7 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers and 1 of 4 shots, 5 points, 1 of 4 shots, and 1 of 2 shots, 5 points, 1 of 4 shots, and 1 block.

It is worth mentioning that Mengmeng Green has received up to 5 technical fouls and was suspended after being sentenced to 2 more times. In addition, Green's total assists in his career reached 1,007 times and officially surpassed Dennis Johnson, rising to 14th place in history, setting a new milestone record.

In addition, according to NBA statistics, Cole rotated 14 players in the halftime, which is also the first team in the league that has 14 players played in the NBA playoffs since 1998.

On the Timberwolves, Edwards retreated due to an injury, made 2 of 7 shots in the first place, scored 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block; Randle made 6 of 11 shots and scored 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; McDaniels made 4 of 6 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointer, 1 of 1 steal and 3 blocks.

The side changes again, Edwards chose to play with injuries in the second half. Butler accelerated to break through and flew into the layup. Kumingga counterattacked after stealing, but was pulled by Edwards. The referee called a technical foul and the Warriors chased to the 12-point difference. Randle and Reed made three-pointers one after another, and Hilder scored again after chasing a three-pointer. The Warriors chased the smallest 7-point difference in this game and stopped the Timberwolves. Butler was called to walk when counterattack, Reed hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding, McDann made a one-dragon dunk, Walker received the ball and made another three-pointer, and the Timberwolves scored 11-0 in 3 minutes and then led to 18 points.

The decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Green counterattacked a one-stop to face Gobert and made a layup. Butler accelerated to break through and passed the defense and easily dunked with both hands, and the Warriors continued to chase points. Reed made another three-pointer in the bottom corner, Edwards passed the defense and made another layup, and the gap reached 22 points again. With five minutes left in the game, Kerr Mingjin stopped the troops and replaced all the main players. In the end, the Warriors lost to the Timberwolves 93-117, and suffered a 24-point defeat, with a big score of 1-1. In terms of data, on the Warriors, Butler scored 6 of 13 shots, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal; Green contributed 9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block; Hilder made 5 of 14 shots, scoring 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; Kuming added to the surprises, scoring 8 of 11 shots, scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 rebounds.

On the Timberwolves, Edwards played with an injury, made 6 of 13 shots, scored 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists; Randall scored 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists; Gobert contributed 5 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 turnovers.