Things have gone from bad to worse for the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals, as they blew a fourth-quarter lead on Saturday night to fall behind in their series with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After stealing Game 1 in Minnesota — despite Steph Curry suffering a hamstring injury in the game — Golden State appeared poised to make things interesting in this second-round matchup. Even with Curry likely out at least until Game 5 — and probably longer — the Warriors had bought themselves some time by winning Game 1.
Unfortunately, that has all unraveled. Golden State dropped Game 3 after leading late, allowing the Wolves to outscore it 33-24 in the fourth quarter. Now, the Warriors are +6500 to win the NBA Finals at DraftKings, even though they were +3000 just a few days ago.
This is a tough fall for the Warriors’ as they likely need to win Game 4 or 5 to give Curry a chance to return in this matchup — if he even can.
Steph went down in Game 1 on Tuesday, May 6, and Golden State promptly said he’d miss at least on week on Wednesday. That gives him a slim chance of returning for Game 5 on Wednesday, May 14. Game 4 will be on Monday night in Golden State, but the Warriors are 5.5-point home underdogs.
There is some extra time off between Game 5 and 6, which would give Curry about 10 days to get ready to return to the floor. With a hamstring injury, it’s unclear if Curry will even be able to play by then.
Saturday’s loss was a heartbreaking one for Golden State, as Jonathan Kuminga (30 points off the bench) and Jimmy Butler (33 points) both had massive games. Unfortunately, the Warriors got little help elsewhere, especially from guard Brandin Podziemski, who shot 1-for-10 from the field.
Oddsmakers have the Warriors as easily the last choice to win the title at this point in the playoffs. The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are tied for the next-worst odds at +2800, but they are up 2-1 in their respective series.
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