Warriors facing elimination after Timberwolves pull away in Game 4

SAN FRANCISCO The gold-clad sold-out Chase Center crowd let out one groan after another as they watched what could be the final Warriors home event of the season slip away against the Timberwolves on Monday night What began as a second consecutive competitive challenge with Steph Curry and his injured left hamstring on the sidelines turned into a - Timberwolves supremacy and a - series deficit for the Warriors The paying spectators saw Jonathan Kuminga count as a rare bright spot for the crew but also watched Jimmy Butler put up just on a quiet -for- shooting night Golden State as a whole shot just from the field as Anthony Edwards points Julius Randle points and the Wolves defense pulled away After going into halftime up two points the Warriors saw their lead evaporate as the Wolves embarked on a - run starting with two Rudy Gobert free throws The Warriors left the third quarter trailing by after a -minute stretch filled with fruitless Golden State drives turnovers and a parade of made Timberwolves jumpers The -foot- Gobert was an unsolvable obstacle in the paint blocking just one shot but stifling the Warriors drives while Edwards made three -pointers to give the Wolves an - lead with left in the quarter As Curry looked helplessly on from the bench the Warriors went almost five minutes without scoring a point and were outscored - during the period The fourth quarter was a mere formality with coach Steve Kerr waiving the white flag and putting in reserves with left The benchwarmers cut into the deficit in garbage time albeit against the Wolves starters It was a stark departure from the intensity of the encounter s beginning During the pregame shootaround the Warriors spoke about the importance of playing with pace Draymond Green and Kuminga exhibited they took the message to heart pushing the tempo at every opportunity against the athletic Wolves and helping give the Warriors a - first-quarter lead That continued in the second quarter when Buddy Hield took advantage of open space to amount points while Kuminga used his pace to blow past Naz Ried for eight points and a - lead after minutes It all fell apart after halftime though as the Warriors made only two -pointers in the second half both during garbage time The Warriors will try to keep their season alive when they play Encounter in Minneapolis on Wednesday at p m PT