The Minnesota Timberwolves fell 99-88 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals on Tuesday night to the Golden State Warriors. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring in the loss with 23 points. After being down 14 points at halftime, the Timberwolves battled back in the 4th quarter, but it wasn't enough to escape with the victory.
With Minnesota's Game 1 loss at home, they made NBA history, but not in the way they'd like to. Since the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, and Indiana Pacers all won Game 1 of their respective series as well, it marks the first time in league history all road teams won Game 1 in the Conference Semi-Finals.
Typically, the teams with home-court advantage take Game 1 of their series. Especially, this deep into the playoffs. Never have we seen all road teams win Game 1 in the Semi-Finals. This is a testament to the parity of the game today. In fact, the Pacers took a 2-0 series lead after their victory on Tuesday night as well.
There wasn't a player on Minnesota that had a good game on the offensive end. As they attempt to reach the Conference Finals for the second consecutive season, their performance in Game 1 against Golden State cannot happen again. After the Warriors lost Stephen Curry in the second quarter (left hamstring), the Timberwolves should've taken advantage and battled back to victory.
Since Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Timberwolves are shooting 41.8% and only 25.4% from three-point range. In addition to that, in their past two games, they're shooting just 15.7% from beyond the arc, the worst in NBA history over a two-game span. Offensively, Minnesota has been struggling the past few games.
This all makes Game 2 on Thursday a must-win for Minnesota. The Warriors will be without Curry, plus the Timberwolves cannot afford to go into Game 3 on Golden State's home floor down 2-0 in the series with a possible returning Curry to the lineup. After making history in Game 1 in an unwanted way, Minnesota will need to refocus for the rest of the postseason.
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