Warriors fail Stephen Curry as sad realization sets in after season-ending loss

Playing without injured superstar Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors needed to be at their defensive best to even have a chance of extending their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That just wasn't the case over the last two games, with the Warriors failing to bring the requisite effort and intensity on the defensive end as a 121-110 loss at Target Center on Wednesday put the final nail in their season.

The Warriors were eliminated by the Timberwolves on Wednesday

Golden State were within three mid-way through the second-quarter, but a blistering run from the Timberwolves gave them a 15-point half-time lead and effectively ended any hopes the visitors had of forcing a Game 6 where Curry may have returned.

The struggling Brandin Podziemski found some rhythm in the second-half, offering some resistance with a team-high 28 points as the Warriors briefly pulled back to within nine early in the fourth-quarter. Jonathan Kuminga had nine first-quarter points and 26 for the game, but shot just 11-of-23 from the floor and had only one three rebounds.

Curry's injury meant the Warriors relied simply too heavily on their youngsters and lesser role players, but that wasn't helped either by another pair of underwhelming outings from veteran stars Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

Butler again took only 11 field-goal attempts, scored 17 points, and was a game-worst -17 in his 42 minutes. Green had 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, but it was his lack of defensive impact that was most disappointing over the last two games.

The irony is that despite the up-and-down nature of their season, the Warriors may have had a real chance to get out of the West and even win the championship had Curry not suffered the devastating hamstring injury in Game 1.

The sad part now is that Curry, Butler and Green will be another year older next season, and that the conference is about to get a whole lot stronger again. The Dallas Mavericks just somehow ended up with the No. 1 overall pick and presumably Cooper Flagg, the San Antonio Spurs got the second overall pick and will regain Victor Wembanyama, and there's a chance that 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo heads West in a trade this offseason.

Perhaps the Warriors just lost their final opportunity to really make a sustained playoff run in the Curry era, with plenty of question marks now facing the front office ahead of a huge offseason.