Published on Wednesday, 5/7/25, at 10:25 a.m. Eastern.
Updated on Wednesday, 5/7/25, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
UPDATE: According to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain that’s expected to keep him out of the lineup for at least one week.
Golden State (54-37 straight up, 45-43-3 against the spread) picked up a monster win at Minnesota in Tuesday’s series opener, but the victory was soured a bit by the loss of Stephen Curry.
The 11-time All-Star guard strained his hamstring in the second quarter and didn’t return. Steve Kerr dubbed him “day to day” at his postgame presser, adding that Curry would have an MRI this morning to determine the severity of the injury.
The Warriors led by 10 points when Curry walked straight to the locker room after leaving the court. They went on to collect a 99-88 win as six-point road underdogs, hooking up money-line supporters with a +215 return.
Buddy Hield led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds, one steal and three assists without a turnover, draining 5-of-8 attempts from 3-point range. Jimmy Butler added 20 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and eight assists compared to just one turnover.
Draymond Green contributed 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Before leaving the game, Curry had 13 points on 5-of-9 makes from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from downtown. Gary Payton II provided 26 solid minutes off bench, finishing with eight points, five boards, four assists and one steal.
More than anything, though, it was Golden State’s defense that stole the show. The Warriors forced Minnesota to miss its first 16 shots from 3-point territory before Naz Reid hit a trey with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.
“It was beautiful to see,” Green said. “Everybody who came into the game gave us something.”
“It’s about the intensity and the heart and the fight, and if you do that, you give yourself a chance,” Kerr said.
Kerr thew a lot of zone defense at the Timberwolves, who can expect more of the same if they don’t shoot better from the perimeter. More production from star guard Anthony Edwards would help, too.
Edwards led his team to a five-game dismissal of the Lakers in the opening round, but he was a non-factor in Game 1. He went 0-of-8 on field-goal attempts, 0-of-3 on treys and scored only one point in the first half.
“It starts with Anthony,” Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said. “He struggled early and the light went out. You’re the leader of the team and you’ve gotta come out and set the tone.”
The Warriors took a 44-31 lead into halftime and extended their advantage to 80-60 going into the fourth quarter.
Edwards played better in the second half, but it was way too late. He finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Julius Randle had 18 points and six assists, while Reid had 19 points and five boards.
“People are going to try to blame whatever, blame whoever,” Edwards said. “They can blame me. I just didn’t play good enough.”
The T-wolves made only 5-of-29 attempts from long distance (17.2%).
As of Wednesday morning, most books had Minnesota (53-35 SU, 43-44-1 ATS) installed as a 10-point home favorite for Thursday’s Game 2. The total was in the 201-202 range, and the Warriors were +400 on the money line.
By Wednesday afternoon after the Grade 1 diagnosis on Curry, most spots had adjusted the T-wolves to 10.5-point ‘chalk.’
FanDuel had Minnesota as a -180 ‘chalk’ for the updated series price this morning, with Golden State at +152 underdog odds. The T-wolves were -1.5 games at +152 odds for the series spread.
Those numbers also shifted after Curry was deemed out for at least a week. As of Wednesday afternoon, FanDuel had Minnesota at -210 for the updated series price, with the Warriors at +176 on the comeback. The updated series spread had the T-wolves -1.5 games for a +132 return.