Replacing Curry’s scoring was Buddy Hield in Game 1 with a team-high 24 points. Hield called himself Batman to Butler’s Robin after the 99-88 win last week at Target Center, but he had just eight points on 2-for-9 shooting Wednesday.
Butler, who had 33 points in Game 3, was battling illness and a lingering hip issue from the first-round series against Houston.
“The injury in Houston definitely impacted him,” Kerr said. “He’s been playing through pain. I think the biggest thing in this series without the spacing that Steph gives us, Minnesota did a great job of playing us one-on-one. … They made things difficult for Jimmy. Once Steph went out, it changed everything for our whole team, especially for Jimmy.”
Still, Jonathan Kuminga emerging as a go-to option and Brandin Podziemski ending a slump kept Golden State’s offense afloat Wednesday. Podziemski and Kuminga combined for 54 points and helped the Warriors cut the Wolves’ lead to 99-90 with just under seven minutes to play.
Even after defeat, Kerr talked about being “excited for what’s ahead” with the Warriors bringing back pieces of one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Even if those top pieces are aging.
“Yes, our main three guys are older now, so we’re going to have to navigate that,” Kerr said. “But you just go for it and do the best you can.”