Minneapolis – Minnesota coach Chris Finch challenged franchise star Anthony Edwards after the Timberwolves gave up their first game of the Western Conference semifinal despite early exports from Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.

"It starts with the ant," Finch said after the loss on Tuesday night at 99-88. "I thought he struggled, and then you can see the light going out for a while."

Edwards ranked fourth in the league with an average of 27.6 points per game in the regular season, shooting just one point in halftime in 8. Minnesota trailed 44-31 at the break.

He would miss his first 10 goals before making the basket and scored 23 points on 9 of 23 shots (3 3-pointers 1-1).

Even after Curry's left hamstring pressure left him out of the game after 13 minutes, the Wolves couldn't make much indentation. Golden State led by up to 23 points, and Minnesota never cuts closer to a deficit than a nine-point cut in the second half.

Finch said that a spiritual speech to 23-year-old Edwards should not be required to coach at this stage of the playoffs.

"What's there to talk about? You're the team leader," Finch said. "You have to come out and set the tone. If your shot doesn't go, you still have to carry the energy. If I have to talk with the guy about bringing the right energy into the second round of the opening game, then we're not on the same page."

Edwards had two steals in the first half, while Minnesota scored 44 points on 37.2% from the field, pointing out his defense proved that his efforts weren't as trusted as Finch.

However, the three-time All-Star Game accepted any criticism that the loss could bring.

“People are going to try to blame anything, who they can blame — they can blame me,” Edwards said. “(But) we are not doing well enough.”

He isn't the only Wolf player to perform poorly. Julius Randle averaged 48.1% of the 22.6 points in the first round of the Los Angeles Lakers, with just 4-point shooting percentage, with as many turnovers as rebounds and three-pointers. Starting point guard Mike Conley is considered a 5-0 scoring. Donte Divincenzo hit 3 from 11 (3-1) on the bench.

"You're the leader of the team. You have to come out and set the tone. If your shot doesn't go, you still have to carry the energy. If I have to talk to the man about getting the right energy into the second round of the opening game, then we're not on the same page."

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch

"It's frustrating, but I'm inspired," Randall said. "As a team, we can do something better. … We can't hurt ourselves, we feel we did it tonight."

Minnesota center Rudy Gobert said the Wolves' long wait to start the second round, while the Warriors played seven games with the Houston Rockets to further impact the team.

"Maybe we need to be ready to play high-intensity games," Gobert said. "Even if we practiced for six days and didn't play for six days, I don't think we really felt that intensity."

The Wolves scored 15 in the first half with 3 points - the team has not had 3 innings in the first half since 2018 and has not had 3 games in the playoffs, not 3 times since 2004, and the game is only 29.

The Wolves scored their worst two-point shooting percentage (15.7%) in NBA playoff history with 12 innings (15.7%) in NBA playoff history, according to ESPN Research (ESPN Research).

"We didn't shoot well tonight, but it's over tonight," Edwards said. "So we'll shoot very well in the next game."

Finch also aimed at his team's quick execution as they managed only 10 quick breakout points, even though the Warriors made 18 turnovers.

"Our transition decisions are demonic," Finch said. "Obviously, we can't hit the ball, but I don't like the fact that we can't produce good shots over and over again. We should be able to do that."

Conley, a 37-year-old Wolves politician, said the Wolves will have something better in their second game Thursday.

"I hope to get a response," Conley said. "We all feel like we are performing as much as possible. Give them credibility, but we're not going all the way. A lot of mental mistakes, a lot of mental mistakes and a lot of things we know we can change, so I think we'll be ready."