Warriors, Knicks will try to bounce back from home playoff losses with another chance in Game 4

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Without Steph: Those words keep coming up for the Golden State Warriors.

They will have to try again to find a way to win without Stephen Curry, who has missed the past two playoff games against Minnesota with a strained left hamstring.

“Our margin for error without Steph is obviously slimmer than it normally is, so we've got to be really focused on our game plan, discipline,” coach Steve Kerr said Sunday. “The effort was amazing.”

Yet even trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven playoff series against the Timberwolves after a 102-97 defeat Saturday night, Jimmy Butler had some positive reflections:

“Of course, that we can compete without Steph," Butler said. “We’re still as confident as ever. We're going to go back to the film and the drawing boards and figure it out, and come back in here on Monday and (get) this thing to 2-2."

Meanwhile at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks will aim to bounce back at home Monday night after the Boston Celtics won 115-93 to pull within 2-1 in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

“I mean, it’s the NBA playoffs, we all got to walk in with that kind of urgency. Shouldn’t be something we have to tell people to do," Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns said. “So, it falls on all of us to come in with that kind of urgency.”

Golden State will be bringing it, too.

The Warriors have another chance at Chase Center to even the series before returning to Minneapolis for Game 5. Curry is scheduled to be evaluated Wednesday, one week after his MRI exam following the injury early in Game 1 last Tuesday, so if all went well the soonest he might be available would be a Game 6 in San Francisco.

“I think the important thing is just to go out and perform no matter what’s going on, no matter if Steph is out there,” said forward Jonathan Kuminga, who scored 30 points off the bench Saturday.

The Warriors would like to find their 3-point shooting groove again after failing to make one in the first half on five attempts before finishing 10 of 23.

Sure, the offense is a concern, but Kerr keeps stressing how defense will be the key to winning this series. And on Saturday, the Warriors couldn't stop Anthony Edwards or Julius Randle when it mattered.

Edwards scored 36 points while Randle had a triple-double of 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

The Wolves were unfazed by a deficit and a raucous crowd, chipping away a possession at a time.

“I think we’re just more confident now than we have been in the past,” Minnesota point guard Mike Conley said. “We saw it tonight being down a couple points late in games, and we don’t seem to panic. We tend to kind of double down on what we do defensively. Offensively we got a good rhythm.”

The Warriors will lean once more on Butler's guidance with Curry on the bench. Playoff Jimmy had 33 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

"We're down 2-1, we've got to weather the storm," Buddy Hield said. “... We have to protect the basketball and just weather the storm and just give the ball to Jimmy and let him figure it out for us.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Knicks, 2-1

What to Know: The Celtics have led by at least 20 points in all three games, but didn’t win any of them until their 115-93 victory in Game 3. The Celtics, who set an NBA record for 3-pointers made in a season, were 20 for 40 on Saturday after making just 25 of 100 in the two games in Boston. The Celtics' center rotation comes off its best game, with Al Horford scoring 15 points in Game 3 after two poor games in Boston and Kristaps Porzingis playing a series-high 19 minutes off the bench after feeling better after battling an illness in the opening two games. Mitchell Robinson is 7 for 23 on free throws, with the Celtics fouling the Knicks backup center intentionally to take advantage of his woes. Knicks forward OG Anunoby has totaled seven points on 3-for-15 shooting in the past two games after scoring 29 in the opener.

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, 10 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Timberwolves lead 2-1

What to Know: Minnesota made the key plays when it counted, such as Rudy Gobert's dunk and three-point play with 2:05 to go and his offensive rebound off a 3-point miss by Edwards that led to a made 3 by Edwards with 1:19 left. The Warriors missed Draymond Green's defensive presence during that crucial final stretch after he fouled out with 4:38 to play. Kerr might mix and match once more after he went with Trayce Jackson-Davis in the starting lineup for Game 3 but only played him 11 minutes — “we liked Trayce's size,” Kerr said. Kuminga's 30-point performance on 11-of-18 shooting playing nearly 36 minutes off the bench might put him in consideration for returning to the starting five.

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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed.

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