It is impolite to talk about death, but sometimes a hard truth is better than a soft sugarcoating of reality.
So let's say this: The Timberwolves beat the Warriors at full strength on Sunday, such as that is for a Golden State team that has Stephen Curry and an extremely mediocre supporting cast.
Curry sat out Tuesday's rematch with a minor injury, leaving Golden State no better option but to pick a fight early, get two of their aging core players ejected, and hope that it lit a spark under the rest of their team.
It worked, until it didn't.