Warriors make important discovery but pay price for initial mistake in Game 2

The decision to start Quinten Post in Stephen Curry's absence backfired for the Golden State Warriors at the start of Game 2, with the visitors paying the price for a slow start in a 117-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Thursday.

The Timberwolves started on a 13-0 run and Post wasn't seen again after the opening minutes, but on the positive side the Warriors did make a pleasant and surprise rotation discovery on a pair of young players.

Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis were positives for the Warriors in Game 2

With Steve Kerr utilizing all 14 available players in the first-half, Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis took advantage of the opportunity with promising performances despite regularly being out of the rotation in recent weeks.

Kuminga had 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting in the first-half, leading to him getting the start in the second-half as Golden State found themselves down by 17 following the slow start.

A Kuminga dunk on Rudy Gobert and a Buddy Hield corner three briefly cut the lead to seven early in the second-half, only for the Timberwolves to steady and rebuild a 20-point lead entering the fourth-quarter.

Kuminga finished with a team-high (and an equal playoff career-high) 18 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, while also adding five rebounds in just over 26 minutes.

Jackson-Davis played over 19 minutes -- his most playing time since January 22 at Sacramento. The second-year big rose for a number of highlight dunks on his way to 15 points and six rebounds on 6-of-6 shooting.

While Kuminga and Jackson-Davis were the slight positives for the Warriors which may prove crucial as the series progresses, the offense still struggled significantly with Curry sitting on the sidelines.

Golden State cooled off from 3-point range, going 9-of-32 (28.1%) from deep after shooting over 40% in Game 1. Jimmy Butler had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in just under 34 minutes, but he wasn't the dominant player the Warriors needed with Curry out.

Buddy Hield went 4-of-9 from 3-point range, though was just 1-of-5 from inside the arc on his way to 15 points. Brandin Podziemski had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists and was the only Warrior with a positive plus-minus in the 24-point defeat.

While the margin blew out a little down the stretch, the Warriors could consider themselves competitive after the opening five minutes which ultimately proved fatal. Still, the inability to generate offense without Curry is a huge concern that may be impossible to overcome.

Curry will remain out for the two upcoming home games at Chase Center, with the first of those set to take place on Saturday night.