Steve Kerr Assigns Blame After Warriors Suffer Season-Ending Loss to Timberwolves

The Golden State Warriors entered the NBA playoffs with high hopes after landing star Jimmy Butler ahead of the trade deadline and ending the season on a torrid 23-8 run.

But the season came crashing down after star Steph Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1 of the team's second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors struggled to contain the hot Timberwolves, getting eliminated with a 121-110 loss in Wednesday's Game 5.

Though the Warriors struggled to contain the Timberwolves in the deciding contest, head coach Steve Kerr said it was another game that turned the series. Speaking to reporters after the game, Kerr laid blame on the team's inability to hold a late lead in Game 3.

"That was the one we needed to get," Kerr said.

As San Francisco Standard reporter Danny Emerman noted, the Warriors held a six-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3 and got a combined 63 points from Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga, but couldn't hold on as the Timberwolves won to seize a 2-1 lead in the series. 

The Warriors were forced to play the "what-if" game after Curry's injury. Butler told reporters after Wednesday's loss that he believes the series could have gone differently. 

“If we’re healthy, if all this and if all that, then it might be different,” Butler said. “We don’t know. But we’re going to take our chances, for sure, if Steph is out there. We’ll come back, figure this thing out next year, do the same thing.”