We’re in must win territory here, Dub Nation!
Let’s talk about desperation, Dub Nation. The kind that makes your palms sweat, your heart race, and has you contemplating ritual sacrifices to the basketball gods. Because that’s exactly where we are heading into Monday night’s Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Down 2-1 with Stephen Curry rocking designer baseball caps on the sideline, the Warriors find themselves in that special place where “must-win” feels like the understatement of the century. It’s more like “win-or-start-planning-fishing-trips” territory.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Timberwolves lead series, 2-1
WHEN: Monday, May 12th, 2025; 7pm PDT
WATCH: ESPN
If Game 3 taught us anything, it’s that Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga can be an absolutely devastating one-two punch when they’re cooking. Butler dropped 33 points (his playoff high this year) while Kuminga exploded for a career playoff-best 30. That’s 63 combined points of pure offensive firepower.
Problem is, basketball remains stubbornly committed to being a five-person sport.
Games 2/3
Outside of Jimmy/JK/Buddy
GP2 36mins + 2 points
Dray 58mins + 11pts
Podz 72mins + 16pts
Moody 20mins + 3pts
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) May 11, 2025
The Warriors overcame a rough shooting night for most of the game, making all of their 3-pointers in the second half. But “most of the game” is doing some heavy lifting in that sentence. For critical stretches, the Warriors offense looked like five guys who met in the parking lot 15 minutes before tipoff.
When your shot chart looks like a cluster of blue dots huddled in the paint while the three-point line remains a barren wasteland, you’ve basically entered what I like to call “Prison Ball” – where you’re just trying to survive by getting to the rim and fighting through contact.
For the Warriors to even this series, someone outside the Butler-Kuminga tandem needs to get their shots falling.
Let’s give credit where it’s terrifyingly due. Anthony Edwards finally turned the jets on in Game 3. When Ant starts putting together highlight reels, Minnesota becomes a completely different animal.Julius Randle put up a vintage performance with a playoff triple-double as well.
The elephant in the room – or rather, the 6’2” basketball wizard in street clothes – remains Stephen Curry. The Dubs have dropped two straight games without Stephen Curry after winning the series opener. That’s not coincidence; it’s causation.
Minnesota is not that good. They turned it over 20 million times but the Warriors couldn’t hit enough shots to make them pay. Podz, Moody, Draymond combined had 7 points in 71 minutes. This was the type of game they HAD to win. Uphill climb from here for the Dubs.
— Dan Dibley (@dandibley) May 11, 2025
Every Warriors fan is frantically refreshing Twitter for hamstring updates. But even if Curry miraculously suits up (which seems unlikely), he’d be far from 100%.
For Game 4, the Warriors need to start connecting from deep early, make the Wolves’ defense stretch, and create those driving lanes for Butler and Kuminga.
Jimmy Butler III and Jonathan Kuminga combined for 63 points in the Warriors’ 102-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center on Saturday. They were monstrous. Now imagine if they had any breathing room at all.
This game isn’t just about evening the series. It’s about proving this Warriors team has the heart and grit to overcome adversity when their superstar is down. It’s about Jimmy Butler justifying the mid-season trade. It’s about Jonathan Kuminga continuing his emergence as a force. But mostly, it’s about not going down 3-1 to a Minnesota team that would love nothing more than to end Golden State’s season before Steph returns.
Look, the basketball gods love nothing more than a dramatic storyline. Maybe we’re setting up for the Warriors to go down 3-2 before Steph returns with a robo-hamstring to save the day.